Gregor and The Prophecy of Change
by goatcloud
Summary: After an unexpected fall with his cousin, Gregor finds himself stuck in the Underland. If he can help end the war with the spinners, maybe he can go home sooner. Unfortunately his old friends and cousin just make things more difficult for him, and he's not sure how to handle it. There seems to be more than one party that needs some understanding.
1. Chapter 1

**To anyone who read my other stories, this isn't a new one. I wasn't thrilled with the way it turned out my first go around, so this is the same basic story, but with a lot added (more description and what not). I also wanted to play with point of view, so eventually that will happen. Anyways, I hope everyone likes it.**

* * *

1

Gregor woke in the car with a start, his heart racing and sweat dampening his forehead. After a few quick looks over his shoulder to check that no one saw, he took some deep breaths and calmed down. Another nightmare. Well a bad dream at least, because it wasn't night at the moment. He hadn't realized he fell asleep in the car, or that his cousin, whom he was traveling with, stopped at a gas station. He blinked in the hot, summer sun, and tried to massage the kink in his neck. He hated the cramps from sleeping in the car. Gregor rolled down the window for some air, and nodded to the one other man in the parking lot. This place was so spacious with its lack of people and abundance of trees. Gregor wasn't sure if he liked it.

He was going to live with his cousin, Wynn, in her family home in Pennsylvania. When Gregor was twelve, his family moved to Virginia to get as far away from the Underland as possible. Gregor's mother had no desire to live anywhere near New York, but the family made her agree to move to Pennsylvania even though it was closer to New York than Virginia. Wynn's parents had recently taken a job in South Korea, and didn't want to leave her alone for so long. Gregor's father knew he could get a job there (the job market was still terrible in Virginia) and wanted to be there for his niece (especially after their falling out years ago when he disappeared), so he had the family move. Though his sisters were a little upset about the move, Gregor really didn't mind. He had a difficult time making friends in Virginia, so he figured he could try again in a new school.

It took a lot of convincing to get his mother to agree to let him go with Wynn as she was over protective after everything that happened three years ago. She had the family move to Virginia, forbade any contact with the Underland, and rarely let Gregor be independent. Wynn finally convinced his mom to let her take him with her a week ahead of when the rest of his family would come up. His family would move when his sister, Lizzie, finished up a Mathlete competition, and his other sister, Maggie (Boots went by Maggie now that she was a big five year old), finished her swimming lessons. That would give their parents' time to pack up the house. This was the first time Gregor was away from his family since he was twelve.

Gregor saw Wynn walking to the car, and quickly tried to look like nothing was bothering him. How long had he been asleep? It didn't matter. He smiled and ran a hand through his messy hair as she walked up. Though she was still wearing the purple dress, Wynn took off her heels at some point, and pulled her hair up sloppily. She picked him up for the drive after she left a formal brunch for something about an internship, but it appeared she was back to her usual, playful self. She hopped in the car with a smile.

"Hey there, sleepy head," she greeted him. "I got you something to snack on. You feeling ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine," Gregor lied. He saw she didn't believe him, but he knew better than to try to explain about his dream. She would think it was his crazy imagination or that he had some serious suppressed emotional issues. Who knew, maybe he did.

"You sure? If you need to talk or something, I'm a pretty good listener. Not that I'm bragging or anything," she said, the smile returning to her face. Gregor forced himself to smile back, and took a bag of chips to eat.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Come on, turn the AC back on. The heat is killing me." Gregor knew he could never talk to anyone about what happened in the Underland, or what currently haunted him in his dreams. He often times wished he could talk to someone, but his family rarely brought it up and a doctor would put him in the looney bin. Besides, he figured it was better not to talk about it so he could eventually forget.

"If you say so, but the offer is still there," she replied with a shrug. "Hey. You want to drive?" she asked excitedly. Gregor blinked at her in surprise.

"Uh, that's illegal, Wynnie."

"Don't you have your permit?"

"Not until next year. I'm not old enough yet."

"It's fine. Those age limits are more guidelines really. Plus we're in a pretty rural area. No one is going to stop us, and it's a great place to practice. Come on," she insisted, jumping out of the diver's seat, "better you mess up with me, than with your mom."

"Well I can't argue with that logic."

Gregor switched places with his cousin. He was actually pretty excited to drive, which may have been the one normal thing about him. He knew that even when he did get his permit, his over protective parents would still be reluctant to let him drive. Wynn directed him out of the parking lot and back onto the road.

"Gregor," Wynn said.

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell your mom. Ok?"

Gregor had to laugh a little at that. "Ok."

Wynn told him that he would drive on this road for a while, so he turned on some music while she checked out the scenery. They didn't talk much, and his thoughts went to his dream. It was about the Underland again, and he was trying to save the people he once knew there, but was unable, just like all the nightmares he had about the Underland. This one had been about Ares, his bond. He was falling into a black pit, and Gregor could do nothing but reach for him and grab air. He shivered, and pushed the dream from his mind.

His dreams always switched between different Underlanders, some of which he barely knew, yet their purple eyes and pale faces would appear in the night. He thought about those he missed the most now. Vikus must be pretty old, and Gregor hoped he had recovered from his stroke. Howard would be around twenty by now, and probably working out to be a great doctor. How was Mareth doing with his prosthetic leg? How was Nike and Aurora? Ripred was probably was still as sharp tongued as ever.

Then Gregor's mind turned to Luxa. He always tried not to think about her. He had become such close friends (he would never admit to more) with her, and it was very difficult saying goodbye. She would be 15 by now. Almost 16, when she receives official power as Queen of Regalia. The thought was strange to him. Luxa was working up to becoming a leader, while he was still in high school. Suddenly his life felt painfully mundane. As far as Gregor was concerned, that wasn't a bad thing.

"Gregor, pay attention," Wynn interrupted his thoughts. He had zoned after driving for so long, and didn't notice that he let the car drift into the oncoming traffic lane. He quickly swerved back into his lane, thankful that there were no other cars on the country road. He took note that driving required more concentration than he expected, at least while he was still learning.

"Sorry," he told his cousin, "I got distracted." He felt bad about it, and cautiously glanced at her, hoping she wouldn't be angry.

She shrugged and sighed, "It happens. Just don't wreck my dad's car." Gregor assured her he wouldn't. "I guess I should expect a teenage boy's thoughts to drift away now and then," she said, a coy smile forming across her lips. "No doubt, he's thinking about some girl." Gregor knew she was asking him a question, but he refused to talk to her about girls.

"Real mature, Wynnie," Gregor mumbled. He wasn't amused. Wynn laughed, and told him to turn left. Twenty minutes later she had him make a right onto a dirt path that hardly looked like it could pass for a road. Gregor had lived most of his life in New York, so he really wasn't used to all this rural stuff. He held the steering wheel tightly, hoping he wouldn't run the car off into the trees.

"I'm taking you in through the back of the property. If you keep going up that road you can avoid this path and get to the front, but I want to show you something," Wynn explained.

Gregor slowed way down as he entered the woods. The path was just big enough for the car, and the leaves on the trees cast a shady pattern on everything. He had to go slow to avoid hitting the bumps too hard, and the occasional branch scraped a window. As they continued, Gregor noticed a cave up ahead, and Wynn instructed him to pull up in front of it. She immediately hopped out of the car with her bag and grabbed two flashlights from the back seat. Gregor turned off the car, set the keys in the cup holder, and sent his mom a quick text that they had arrived safely, were looking at a cave, and he would probably not have signal out here. He didn't want to forget to text her later and get in trouble with her. She got worried so easily now.

"Are we going in there?" he asked as he followed her. Gregor already knew the answer. Of course they were. Wynn loved archeology, and was currently in school for it (Two years ahead. She was naturally smart, very much like his sister, Lizzie). Gregor suspected she found something interesting in there, and figured it would be a good distraction to get his mind off his nightmare.

"Yep," she replied, and took a deep breath. She hated small places and the dark. After all his experience in the Underland, this didn't really bother Gregor at all. He didn't even need the flashlights, because he was still able to use echolocation. "I found some weird cave paintings in there, and I thought you might like to see them. I can't tell if they're real or some kind of elaborate hoax," she explained. "Not to mention, if I allow my fear of enclosed spaces to continue, it could turn into a phobia," she said in a jokingly dramatic and breathy voice. "We don't want that now do we?" she gave Gregor a big smile, and started walking in.

Gregor wondered if a dress and sneakers were good for cave exploring, but figured this wouldn't be that adventurous. He was just glad to go someplace cool since he made the stupid decision to wear jeans instead of shorts when it was humid as hell out. He followed his cousin into the cave, which declined at a slight angle. They turned on the flashlights when the cave entrance left their sight, and Wynn mostly checked the ceiling with hers. As they got deeper into the cave, the air got cooler and damper, which was so nice after the summer heat. They soon came to the back of the cave, which opened up into a sort of circular room. It was about 25 feet in diameter, and eight feet high. Gregor shined his light onto the walls, and saw that they were covered in cave paintings. Seeing cave paintings would have been enough to impress him, but these scared him.

"Isn't it amazing?" his cousin asked. "They look old. I researched what Native American tribes lived in this area, and the style matches. But I think it's fake, because look here," she said pointing to one painting. It was of a large rat, with a human next to it for scale. "This rat is clearly bigger than the person, but the tribes would have known proper proportion in art by this time. Maybe symbolic of…"

Wynn continued talking about the paintings (she could really rattle on just like her uncle, Gregor's father), but Gregor just stared at the paintings, feeling slightly dizzy. They clearly depicted the creatures of the Underland and people interacting with them. _Is this an entrance?_ He was almost sure it was, and he knew he had to lead his cousin out of there. He couldn't let her learn about the Underland. He turned off his flashlight, trying to look uninterested. He sighed loudly like he was bored. When that didn't get her attention, he tried something else.

"Uh, Wynn. Maybe we should just go. I don't know how safe it is to wander into random caves." It was the best excuse Gregor had. He didn't bother hiding his wavering voice, though it wasn't being in a cave that bothered him. He was actually shaken from discovering the paintings about the Underland. She just frowned.

"You weren't worried before. Besides, it's not that far underground."

"Yeah, but you know. It could still collapse or something. You know people always say to stay out of caves and stuff."

"Ugh. Why did you have to say that, Gregor?" She shivered and shined the light to the ceiling again. "Alright, now I need some air. Let's go." She took a step toward the exit, then froze. There was a low sound, as if something cracked beneath them. Gregor felt his stomach drop.

"Oh no," Wynn whispered. Gregor saw panic spread across her face. "Gregor, you need to leave." He was standing next to the exit, but she was across the cave on the other side.

"Calm down, Wynn. I'm not going anywhere. Just try to take another step," he said as nonchalantly as possible, which was difficult considering he was becoming more afraid by the second. He felt his entire body tense as he waved his cousin to move closer to him. Wynn took another step, and a louder crack echoed through the cave.

"Gregor go," she said firmly.

"No!" Gregor didn't mean to say it so loudly. As the echo of his voice faded, the floor broke away first under his cousin's feet, sending fractures across the entire cave floor. In just seconds, the floor under his own feet had fallen away. They were falling into darkness.

* * *

Wynn let out a scream, but Gregor just held his breath. For a second he was sure he would hit the ground and die, but then something familiar happened. He just kept falling. Wisps of air, like from his laundry vent in New York, rushed past him. They continued to fall. Wynn was panicking, but couldn't form words to talk to him. She had let go of her flash light, and it was spiraling down next to them, making shadows spin around them. There was nothing he could do to help her now, so he just waited until they would inevitably land in the Underland.

Gregor hit the ground with a thud, but he wasn't hurt. He heard the flashlight land somewhere, and it clicked off. The darkness was suffocating, and Gregor scolded himself for not keeping on his flashlight. He clicked his tongue and used his echo location to find it

"Gregor?" his cousin called out in the darkness with panic in her voice. Gregor knew she was hyperventilating because he had experience from Lizzie's panic attacks. _Funny how Maggie was only two, but was calmer than Wynn._

"Gregor are you there? Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine, just try to stay calm." The flashlight didn't turn on right away, so Gregor hit it a few times with his palm to make it flick on. He shined the light in her direction, and found her on her hands and knees a few yards from him, her eyes wide in fear. She looked a little crazy with her hair falling in her face. Then again, Gregor guessed he didn't look much better.

"What do you think I'm trying to do? Panic?!" Wynn snapped back. "Of course I'm trying to stay calm." Gregor started to worry that calming a two year old would be easier than calming an "adult" down here. He tried not to be annoyed by her tone, remembering how horrifying falling into a hole could be. "Why are you so relaxed?" she demanded. To Gregor's surprise, now that they had landed, he _was_ relaxed. His heart beat normally, his breathing was fine, and he was actually thinking clearly. He was scared and worried about his cousin, and knew he had to get help somehow, but he wasn't freaking out.

Gregor thought a moment. "I don't want to get into detail, but I think I know where we are… Sort of." She stood, her whole body shaking as if she was cold (which was a possibility considering their summer attire wasn't doing much in the cold, damp air. Gregor was already starting to feel the cold through his t-shirt.), and started to say something, but he shushed her. "Do you hear that?" Wynn listened with him. It sounded like yelling and metal clanging. It was so familiar to Gregor. Battle. It was faint, so the fighting must not be too close. _If there is metal, then that must mean humans. They're the only ones with swords. If we find humans, they may be able to get us to Regalia._

He looked back to his cousin. She was ripping at a layer of her dress. Gregor watched her pull a notebook and pen out of her bag while holding her flashlight in her teeth. "You know where we are, so tell me what to write. In case your family can find this," Wynn instructed him after he made her repeat it without the flashlight in the way. Her voice shook, but she sounded determined, which was a relief to Gregor. Maybe she wouldn't be too much trouble after all. He wasn't sure what she was doing, so he told her a simple note.

Wynn and I fell in a hole in a cave.

We landed in the Underland, but we're safe.

We'll try to get back as soon as possible, don't

come looking for us.

Gregor and Wynn

She wrote it down without question, and hurried on. Gregor watched as his cousin quickly fashioned the fabric she had ripped into a parachute for the folded note. She tied it together with loose thread, then, after a few tries, sent it floating up the wisps of air rising to the Overland.

"I don't think it will make it up, but it's better than nothing," she said. She looked at him. "Now tell me what's going on. I know you know something. You should be freaking out about falling down a huge hole and surviving, but you're not. Why?"

"That's… a long story. We need to start heading toward the noise." This wasn't good enough for Wynn. She grabbed his arm to keep him from walking away.

"Gregor, you need to start explaining right now," she demanded. He shrugged her off, and started down a tunnel toward the battle. He felt bad for being so cold to her, but he didn't have time to explain everything nicely. They wouldn't last long alone, so he needed to find humans fast. It was a pretty big tunnel with a high ceiling and a floor packed down as if it was often used for traveling, so he hoped Wynn wasn't feeling too claustrophobic.

"Gregor," she hissed, but she followed mumbling insults at him in another language. Gregor was too busy to care which one. "Why are you so comfortable down here, and why are we walking toward the scary noises?" She was waving her flashlight around, trying to check every dark corner as if something was there while she whispered to him. _Man, she is freaked out._ He decided to give her a little information. Maybe that could help calm her, though he doubted it.

"A few years ago, I fell down my laundry vent with Maggie. Turns out there are creatures and people living down here, and I got roped into their business. We are going to the scary noises, because hopefully that is where we can find some humans."

Wynn just stared at him, her blue eyes wide in confusion, as they walked on. "There are so many things wrong with what you just said, that I don't know where to even begin."

"Shh," Gregor said.

"Don't shush me."

"Shh." Gregor pressed against the wall of the tunnel, which had gotten a little brighter from what appeared to be torch light (another sign of humans), and gestured that she do the same. He peaked around the corner to look at a large cavern, and could just make out the battle in the darkness. He saw that there were humans and bats fighting spiders, but that was about it. Darkness and smoke kept him from seeing detail, though he could clearly hear all the sounds of battle.

"Well this is new," Gregor muttered to himself. Fliers soared and dove around freely in the huge cave, while giant spiders crawled around the floor, wall, and ceiling. Wynn peaked around too. Gregor didn't think she could see any detail, like what the humans looked like, but she was alarmed by what she could see. She clamped her hand over her mouth and slammed back into the wall.

"Are those spiders?" she whispered.

"Yeah," Gregor responded, his mind racing. "Ok, listen. I need to go find some help. You stay here. I'm going to go out there, then I'll be right back."

"What?" Wynn scolded him in a harsh whisper, and punched him in the arm. "Are you crazy? I am not letting you go out there."

"I can handle it. I've done this before. Besides, I'm just going to try to talk to them," Gregor said, trying for a confident tone and a smile. He knew that was in no way convincing, so he decided to just turn and leave before she could object. He ignored her calling after him, and brushed off her hand as she tried to pull him back.

Gregor ran into the battle, completely unsure of himself. It had been years since his last fight, and he never once practiced his rager abilities. People were fighting on bats from up above, but there were also plenty of soldiers on the ground. Gregor had to find someone he knew. He looked around quickly, then saw a sword on the ground that had fallen from the hand of the dead soldier next to it. He ran and grabbed it just in time to block a spider leg that came down to impale him. Gregor had had sword lessons in the past three years (thanks to Wynn helping him get some without his mother knowing), so he hoped he could rely on that and not his rager instincts.

He hacked away at spider legs. _These things are huge,_ he thought, and tried to push down the fear welling up in his chest. He couldn't get close to the abdomen, so he stuck to cutting at legs. A few chops with his sword could cut through one, and he figured he was doing it right because that's what the other guys were doing.

He finally got away from some of the fighting after some time for a breather, crouching near a boulder. He looked around him for anyone that would be able to help. Most of the people were too busy to even notice he was an Overlander. He was about to rush through the fighting again when he saw a familiar sight. A huge bat with a black and white stipe pattern flew over him. Gregor felt his hopes raise as he tried to keep her in sight, and he stepped out to wave.

"Nike!" he called out. He doubted she could hear him over the noises of the battle. A spider leg came from behind him, and narrowly missed his head. Gregor ducked, and another leg came down. He fell all the way to the ground. _Crap. How could I have let my guard down like that?_ He prepared to be stabbed with another leg, when a person dropped in from up above. He landed on the spider's head, and drove his sword deep into its eye. The man jumped down to the ground, and cut at two of the spider's legs causing it to stumble and fall to the ground twitching. When the man turned around to face him, Gregor was overjoyed.

"What are you doing here, Gregor?" he exclaimed, but he smiled broadly as he helped Gregor up.


	2. Chapter 2

2

"Howard, man am I happy to see you," Gregor smiled back. He was about to quickly explain when Nike landed behind Howard.

"Come, Howard. Aurora has informed me that Luxa is injured, and lays hiding in a cave."

"Luxa is here?!" Howard was immediately furious. He looked around, and found a still burning torch that had fallen on the ground. Gregor remembered his flashlight, and pulled it out quickly. _I guess she wasn't supposed to be here_. Things really hadn't changed that much since he was last here. Howard shoved Gregor onto Nike, then climbed on himself. Nike took off to follow Aurora.

"My apologies, Overlander, but I shall listen to your tale another time," Howard said. "If Luxa is not dead, I shall kill her myself." Gregor didn't like the idea of Luxa dying in battle, and Howard looked worried himself.

They flew across the battle, swerving to avoid spiders dropping from the ceiling instead of trying to fight them. Gregor was surprised that he could still fly so well. He didn't slip once, which was impressive considering he hadn't flown in years and Nike was flying recklessly just to keep up with Aurora. They came to the opening of a smaller cave adjacent to the cavern, and entered just in time to see three giant spiders approaching two dark figures on the ground. One spider reeled back and screeched in pain, while Nike and Aurora quickly grabbed the other two and threw them against the wall. Howard and Gregor slid off Nike's back before she fully landed, and she left to finish off the last spider. The cave was dim with only faint light coming from the battle outside the cave and Howard's torch. Gregor clicked on his flashlight, and stared in shock.

Wynn was of her knees in front of an injured Luxa, holding pepper spray in front of her. _How did she get here?_ Just then, the third spider, having escaped Nike, lunged for Wynn.

"Wynn!" Gregor called out.

Howard dove for her, and knocked her out of the way. Aurora grabbed the spider and tore off two legs before throwing it at the wall. Gregor ran to where Wynn and Howard lay. His cousin fumbled with her flash light and shined it at Howard then almost screamed. Her eyes went wide as she scooted her way back to where Luxa was. She shined the light on Luxa and jumped again covering her mouth with her hand. Gregor guessed she hadn't gotten a good look at the Underlanders yet in all the darkness. Their appearance was no doubt a shock considering their pale skin was almost transparent and their eyes were violet.

"Wynn. It's ok, Wynn. Look at me. These are friends. Just breath," Gregor said trying to calm her.

"Where were you?!" Wynn nearly yelled at him through raspy breaths. "You! You just ran off like a… a… an idiot!" She punched him again, and Gregor saw tears running down her face. She looked like a complete wreck with dirt streaks all over her and her hair falling into her face. Gregor wanted to comfort her, but could think of nothing that would help in this situation. "Don't do that. Don't leave me. Tell me what's going on right now," she demanded. "Please just tell me." Her whole body was shaking now, and Gregor held her hands hoping it would help her calm down. Then Howard appeared behind her, and stuck a needle in her arm. She turned and looked at him. "You son of a bitch…" she slurred as she passed out. Gregor helped lay her down gently.

"What was that?" he asked, a little worried. "You drugged her?"

"It was a sedative. It will wear off in time. I am sorry Gregor, but I am afraid I could not allow her to distract from the situation. We must retreat with haste. Mareth is already calling for a retreat," he explained quickly, and then turned to Luxa. "You did well to leave her here, Aurora. If her neck is injured, flying would only aggravate the injury." The flier shifted anxiously next to her bond. She was completely disinterested in anything other than Luxa, and that included Gregor's unexpected return.

Gregor turned to Luxa now. She looked older, though she still had a slight frame. Her hair was still short, and she was bea-

"Gregor, help me get her onto Aurora," Howard instructed. He had secured her neck as a precaution, and they carefully got her onto her bond.

"I will go with Aurora to tend to Luxa. You will look after her on Nike. Regalia is some distance from here, but we should be able to make the return journey without rest," Howard ordered. He lifted Wynn up, and Gregor helped him get her onto Nike. He then went to Aurora and climbed on. "Fly you high, Gregor." Gregor just waved.

They took off. Gregor held onto his cousin, so she didn't slip off. As soon as they were in the air, Gregor had intense flashbacks of Ares, his own bond. He wasn't sure why the flashbacks just started, maybe the battle distracted him before. It didn't matter. He felt tears well up in his eyes as he remembered flying with his bond. Fighting with him. It had been so long since he had thought about flying. He wasn't sure if he was feeling happy or sad. Maybe just emotional. Everything that had happened in the last hour had been so… insane. He rubbed his head which was starting to hurt.

"It is good to see you again, Overlander, even under the current circumstances," Nike said when they had gotten far enough from the fighting. "I hope it does not pain you too much to fly once again."

"No. It's fine. It's good to see you too." They spent the rest of the trip in silence.

* * *

It was hours before they reached Regalia, which didn't surprise Gregor considering they had to get all the way back to New York from Pennsylvania. When they neared the palace, Aurora took off to the right, while Nike went straight for the High Hall. They landed in the hall, and Gregor assumed word was sent as soon as they entered the city because a few Underlanders stood waiting. Gregor slipped off Nike, and a man came forward and helped him get Wynn down. They laid her on one of the couches along the wall, and the man quickly slipped away. Gregor knelt beside her, and except for a few scratches, she seemed perfectly fine.

"Gregor the Overlander," came a familiar voice, greeting him warmly. "I am pleased to see you once more."

Gregor turned to see Vikus walking up behind him, and felt his spirits pick up at the sight of the old man. He looked only a little older, and though his left side was clearly damaged due to his stroke, he looked strong for his age. Gregor was happy to see that he still had a twinkle in his eye and a welcoming demeanor. Despite the man's genuine smile, Gregor thought he looked concerned. Maybe it was only because Gregor really wasn't supposed to be here.

He smiled in return, "It's good to see you too. I thought you would be with Luxa." Gregor wondered if it was still alright for him to call her this. She was almost Regalia's full-fledged queen, and now that they were older, maybe he shouldn't use her first name anymore. Vikus didn't seem to mind.

"Oh, I will have a few choice words with her when she awakens. For now, I wish to hear how you came to fall to us once again."

Just then Howard walked through the entrance, and quickly moved toward Gregor. Gregor got a good look at him this time; he was a little taller, and his hair was cut short. And of course he was dirty and bloody from battle (Gregor looked at himself and noticed he also looked like bloody mud ball). Other than that he looked the same. Pale skin, silver blond hair, purple eyes that had a twinkle he had inherited from his grandfather.

"Gregor. I am sorry to have rushed you before, but as you could see, the situation was not suitable for a reunion," he said. He touched Gregor's shoulder in greeting, then moved right to Wynn.

"Aren't you going to look after Luxa?" Gregor asked. She was the one he was worried about.

"She is quite alright. A mild concussion, and some cuts. Our doctors will look after her for now. I wish to make sure…. Who is this?" Howard asked. Gregor just realized that they had no idea who she was.

"I was wondering just the same. We were accustomed to you arriving with your little sister, Boots, but the young woman is a surprise," Vikus added. Gregor wondered if he didn't trust Wynn. Maybe he was just surprised by their unexpected arrival. Gregor sometimes found it difficult to tell what the Underlanders were thinking since they always kept themselves cool and collected.

"Oh, sorry. This is my cousin. Her name is Wynnora. We mostly call her Wynn though," Gregor explained, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was going to stay with her, but she wanted to show me some cave paintings. Then the floor broke, and we fell down right next to where you guys were battling it out with spiders. Or spinners." Gregor watched as Howard checked her for broken bones. _I wonder if he feels bad for sedating her._

"You must have fallen through an old entrance to the Underland. I must admit, I wish you had returned through the same one," Vikus said. Howard stood up again looking apologetic.

"We had no time to look. Our army was being driven back by the spinners, and the situation was only made worse upon hearing of Luxa's presence and injury. Mareth called for an immediate retreat. I am sorry, Gregor, but we had to leave immediately for everyone's safety." Gregor was confused. What were they so sorry about?

"It's fine. Wynn and I can just find a way to get home from New York," Gregor explained.

"It will not be that simple," Vikus explained. "At the present time, you cannot leave the Underland."

* * *

Gregor sat in the hot bath, but it didn't help ease him. In fact he felt sick. _How am I going to get home?_ Vikus explained that the passage leading to his old apartment building was collapsed by the spinners, and the war with them prevented the Regalians from spending time to clear it again. The other exit was in an area currently controlled by spinners, and was therefore inaccessible. Gregor assumed that having lost the battle, the Regalians didn't have control over the hole that he and his cousin just fell through either. _How am I going to tell Wynn?_

Gregor got out of the tub, and put on clean clothes. He noticed that only the shirt felt like spinner's silk. The pants were some other material. Unlike last time, when he and his sister stayed in a bedroom together, Gregor and his cousin were given more of an apartment. There were two bedrooms, their own bathroom, and a small living room with a dining table. He wondered if they were preparing him for a longer stay. He really hoped not, but he appreciated the space.

He walked out to the living room, and was surprised to see Howard sitting at the table. He was also cleaned up now, and there were bandages on his right arm. This didn't surprise Gregor. He was used to getting pretty beat up during fights, and was surprised that he made it out of the battle with little damage. Howard stood up when he saw Gregor enter.

"My apologies, Gregor. I did not mean to intrude," he said.

"It's fine."

"I know that you must not feel well considering everything that has happened to you, but I thought you might enjoy eating and talking with us."

"Us?" Gregor asked.

"Luxa must stay awake because of her concussion, so I thought you might join us for some time," Howard explained with a weak smile.

Of course Gregor wanted to see Luxa, though he tried not to seem too hasty. He peaked into his cousin's room to make sure she was still asleep, then followed Howard down to Luxa's quarters. The guards let them in, and Gregor wondered what he should say to his old friend.

Luxa was laying on a couch, but sat up when they entered. She wasn't wearing her usual gold circlet at the moment, and her short hair was slightly messy. Gregor tried not to stare at her, but he was so happy to see her again. Her violet eyes were just the same as before. Mareth sat in a chair beside her. Gregor assumed he was telling her news of the battle. He ran one of his large hands through his shoulder length hair, and seemed to look Gregor over. Gregor smiled at him, and Mareth happily returned the smile.

"So you have decided to return, Overlander. What makes you think we want you back?" Luxa said failing to hide a smirk. Gregor took his time to answer, just to annoy her. He looked to the window, and gave Aurora a wave, who nodded in return, before turning back to Luxa.

"Well I didn't come on purpose," Gregor replied casually. "I don't know why you'd think I would want to come back."

They laughed together, and Mareth got up to give him a bone crushing hug. Howard brought over a platter of food, and they caught up while eating. Gregor had to start, so he explained that his father had made a full recovery and was teaching again. Lizzie still remembered the Underland, but Maggie (the Regalians laughed when they heard his sister thought Maggie was more grown up than Boots) only seemed to remember certain crawlers and fliers. His family had moved to Virginia three years ago, but was now planning to move in with is cousin in Pennsylvania. He finished with explaining how he fell to the Underland again.

"And the woman who was in the cave with me?" Luxa asked.

"My cousin. The cave is behind her house".

Luxa explained how Wynn came after her in the cave after seeing spinners head her direction. It was too dark for Luxa to see that she was an Overlander, and she lost consciousness while Wynn tried to make her get up. She then reprimanded Howard for sedating her.

"She was panicking, and we had to flee," he explained, giving Gregor an apologetic look.

"You did not even give her a chance. I should take away your sedative privileges, cousin."

"Luxa is right. You need improvement in your skills with women," Mareth teased. They laughed at Howard, who only blushed. Gregor forgot how easily they turned red. Howard explained how Wynn reacted when she realized what the Underlanders looked like, and they all laughed again.

"Strange how one as colorful as she could think our appearance is alarming," Howard noted, no doubt referring to Wynn's blond, slightly red, hair and pink cheeks. The Underlanders only had experience with Gregor's immediate family, who all had brown hair, brown eyes, and darker skin, and their cousin, Hazard, who had green eyes and black hair. His cousin's appearance was very different.

"You think she's colorful now," Gregor said, "wait until you see her eyes. They're blue." None of them had seen blue eyes before, and were not fully aware that eyes could be blue. Gregor laughed because to him violet eyes, what every Underlander had, were strange.

Gregor asked why they were fighting the spinners. That seemed far more important than his family life. The Underlanders explained how the spinners made the first attack by seizing Regalian land about a year ago. Before that, the Underland was relatively peaceful. There were few problems with the gnawers, and the city was able to focus on other areas like botany and medicine. However, when the spinners stole land, the Regalians took it as an act of war.

Mareth informed Gregor that he had gotten married, and went on about his wonderful wife, Perdita, until the two cousins made him stop. Gregor was happy to see that Luxa and Howard acted like siblings rather than enemies now, and that Howard stayed mostly in Regalia (he was learning medicine in the Regalian hospital for the time being). They were very close it seemed. Luxa praised his skills as an upcoming doctor, but he insisted he had a lot yet to learn. Luxa said Hazard was visiting the Fount at the moment, and Ripred should return tomorrow from a council with gnawers.

Luxa herself had had a long year. She had less than year to go until she received full responsibilities as queen, so her training had become more intensive. The war with the spinners didn't help matters either. The only good thing was that her regency council was being uncharacteristically useful as they tried to butter her up so she wouldn't fire them the second she became queen. Her cousin said she was doing an excellent job so far, and only suggested that she stop sneaking into battles.

They talked for what felt like hours about anything form the past three years. Finally, Mareth left, and Gregor felt too tired to stay up. He made sure Luxa was feeling better, then went back to his room and fell asleep immediately. He just had enough time to think how the darkness didn't feel as heavy as it did the first time he fell down to the Underland.


	3. Chapter 3

3

The next day Gregor woke up to the sound of someone in the living room, but it was just a servant dropping off breakfast. Gregor was still tired from all that had happened the day before, but figured he should get up. He shuffled lazily into the bathroom to bathe and dress, then made his way to the living room. He made himself a sort of breakfast sandwich from what he found on the tray, and started to eat, still too tired to think. That was when he heard his cousin wake up. He heard her give a small yelp, and then panicked breathing.

"Gregor!" she called out in fear. Gregor got up to rush to her room, running into a chair as he went. "Gregor, is that you?" _Crap, why didn't I leave a light on for her?_ He knew how terrifying and disorienting it could be to wake up in such complete darkness, and Wynn was already scared of being trapped. He had wanted her to wake up calmly, so he could explain everything without her freaking out. It seemed like he really screwed up those plans.

"It's ok Wynn. I'm here," he said as he entered her room and went to light a lamp. It gave only a dim light, so he went to light a few more around the room. Gregor saw that Wynn had pressed her back against the wall behind her bed, and her eyes were wide as she looked around the stone room.

"Gregor. What's going on? Where are we? Are you ok? Did anyone hurt you?" The questions poured out of her.

"I'm fine. What do you remember?" Gregor sat on the bed next to her, and tried to take her hand. She was holding back tears.

"I. I don't know. Falling in a hole. An- And then giant spiders were attacking. Maybe bats. And creepy pale people. With purple eyes. And then you pushed me off a cliff." Gregor almost laughed at her explanation. She glared at him for thinking it was funny, so Gregor cleared his throat and acted serious again.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Ok, that last part about me was a dream, but everything else happened."

"What… no." She looked around the room as if unable to believe she was actually there. "No," she repeated, and covered her eyes with her hand. "So we fell down a hole? And there are giant spiders? And purple eyed people?" She looked through her fingers at Gregor. "Oh, please don't tell me they're subterranean vampires." Gregor shook his head and smiled at her, and squeezed her shaking hand.

"No, they're just people. _Nice_ people."

Gregor soothed her as best he could. When she calmed down enough to listen to him, he told her about his past in the Underland. _Well at least I can tell her the summary version._ His cousin didn't say anything the entire time. She didn't even look at him, she just stared straight forward. Gregor worried that maybe he was making her shock worse, so he talked faster to get through his story quicker. He skipped over anything that seemed unimportant, including any of the fun memories he had from the Underland. When he finished he asked if she any questions.

"So… they used you?" Gregor flinched at the question. "And your dad. I hated him…"

"Don't say that," Gregor said gently.

"They used you," she repeated, apparently still in shock. This really wasn't going how he had hoped it would go. He sort of had this idea of telling her his story, then she would be awed by it all and want to meet everyone. Now that he thought about it, that seemed a little ridiculous.

"No. Well yes. But-" He heard a sound the living room, and looked in that direction. When he looked back at his cousin, she was rubbing her head and appeared to be thinking. "I'll be right back," he said quickly, and stood up.

Gregor walked out to the living room to find Vikus and Ripred waiting there. _Geez, no one bothers to knock around here._ He was finally getting a little annoyed with people walking in without so much as a knock.

"So our little rager has returned. And not with the little noise maker, which I'm glad to hear," Ripred said. "Or rather _not_ hear." Gregor couldn't tell by the tone of his voice if he was happy or mad or indifferent to seeing Gregor again, but with Ripred, he really didn't expect to. Honestly, Gregor felt all the feelings he had when he saw Vikus again for Ripred too… but he thought it better not to let the gnawer know that. Ripred looked older. He had all the same scars, but his fir was spattered with paler grey. Vikus ignored Ripred.

"How fare your cousin? I assume she is awake now," Vikus inquired.

"Yeah. She's doing fine considering. It's nice to see you too Ripred."

"I am sorry to ask you to leave her so soon, but if you are not busy at the moment, we have a matter we wish to discuss with you," Vikus said. That concerned Gregor. Vikus didn't sound like he wanted to discuss long term living arrangements, but something else that was more important. It didn't help matters that Ripred's mocking grin made Gregor think he was missing something important.

"Just let me go check on her." Gregor turned back to the bedroom. He walked in, and saw Wynn still sitting in the same position. "Wynn? Are you ok?" he asked gently.

"Yeah," she answered in a whisper. "You can go with them." Apparently she heard them talking. "I just need some time to think, so it's ok if you go." Gregor told her where the bathroom was, and that there was food on the table.

"I'll be back soon," he assured her. With that he went back out to the living room, and followed Vikus and Ripred to a council room. Along the way, Ripred asked about Gregor's echolocation, and seemed somewhat pleased to hear Gregor still had the skill.

"I'm glad to hear it," Ripred said. "Though I assume it was your sister who made you practice. I don't expect much from a lazy pup like you." Ripred was kind of right. Lizzie was the one who pushed him to practice, but he thought he deserved some credit for keeping the skill. However, he knew he was better off not saying that the Ripred. "And what about your rager instincts?"

"Well," Gregor began, digging his hands into his pockets. "I haven't really practiced those…"

"Oh no, of course not." Ripred's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Why would someone with the ability to kill want to have control over it? It's not like it would be useful to us." Gregor looked away, unsure of what to say. Vikus gave him a sympathetic look.

"That is enough, Ripred," he said quietly, but Ripred was aready done with the conversation.

Upon entering the council room, Gregor was surprised to see there was no actual council. Instead it just appeared to be group of random Underlanders who were unable to work together. _No wait. That is the council._ Vikus must have noticed his surprise.

"They are just as indecisive as ever," he said with a shake of his head. "Luxa mainly relies of myself for diplomatic matters, Mareth when militancy is needed, and Howard as a sort of servant leader. There are others, but she does not heed their word as much as I would hope."

"I don't blame her," Gregor mumbled, looking around at the bickering Underlanders. Vikus looked at him sidelong.

"One should always consider the opinions of others. It helps avoid bias. Certainly with so many different opinions in this room, Luxa should have no difficulty remaining unbiased if she listens to them." Gregor forced himself not to laugh at the subtle jab.

Luxa stood at the end of the long, stone table. She looked tired, but fully recovered from her mild head injury. The young queen wasted no time in getting to business.

"Gregor the Overlander," she began formally, "as you know, all prophecies pertaining to the warrior have been fulfilled, and the warrior has been effectively destroyed. In fact, none of the prophecies of Sandwich are involved in matters today." She waved her hand as if brushing the prophecies aside. "However, you may recall that my cousin, Nerissa, has the gift of foresight. In the heat of fever, she has been known to write prophecies. One of them, we believe is applicable to the current situation."

Gregor felt like a weight came down hard on his shoulders. Of course there was a prophecy. Why wouldn't there be? He heaved a sigh and plopped down in one of the open seats. There were about twelve people in the room, and they all looked at him as if he was crazy for acting like that in front of the queen, but Gregor didn't care. He was tired, and just wanted to get this over with.

"Alright, what's it about?"

Luxa looked at him funny for a moment, then quickly composed herself. Vikus gave Gregor a copy of the prophecy to read, and began explaining.

"As of right now, we cannot see the end of this war with the spinners. The Underland enjoyed a brief time of peace, and we would like to see it return to that peace once more. Fighting until one side is forced to give in is not an attractive option, but this prophecy holds a chance for a more peaceful resolution," Vikus explained. "We could not use it before, because as you can see, the prophecy includes Overlanders. Now, with your arrival, we wish to carry out the plan of the prophecy."

His last statement made the room erupt into argument. Apparently, it was too bold for Vikus to claim that was the plan when not everyone agreed with it. The arguing seemed to go on forever, so Gregor tried to collect what information he could.

Gregor read the prophecy, and was impressed by how straightforward and short it was.

Prophecy of Change

The time of peace has come and gone

While war threatened to burn

The war will end, like all must do

When Overlanders return

Act not the name they gave to you

Strike not or act in hate

But go to queen and change the view

Before it is too late

The Regalians took this as meaning they needed to act in peace. They shouldn't act in war (like they usually did) or kill (the name they were given by the Underland creatures was killers). Instead, to end the war they would have to change the view of the spinner queen through peaceful negotiation. _Simple enough._

Using the prophecy would mean going to the queen of the spinners, who had been moved to a farther location due to the war, to negotiate terms of peace directly with her. The Underlanders in the room objected, because this plan would require Luxa to go. The spinner queen would negotiate with no one less that the Relagian Queen herself.

Also, many Regalians thought this peaceful strategy would only make the humans look weak and cowardly since it avoids battle. It was funny that the one thing Gregor liked about the prophecy, the peaceful tone, was off putting for the Underlanders. Beside Gregor, his cousin, and Luxa, Howard and Ripred would also go. Howard was chosen for his navigation and medical skills, and Ripred because he was a rager, the queen's bond, and had actually been to that territory before. Of course their fliers would also join the company.

Gregor watched as Luxa argued in the center of all the commotion. Even though she was pretty small, maybe 5'2" with a slight frame, she was very intimidating. She held her back straight and her chin high, and Gregor thought she was a match for anyone in the room. He was watching her when Howard sat down next to him when everyone's attention had turned away.

"What do you think of all this?" he asked.

"I don't mean to sound selfish here, but what's in it for us?" Gregor asked. "I don't mind helping Regalia, but I don't want Wynn to risk her life for a bunch of people she doesn't even know." Gregor hoped this wouldn't offend Howard, but he didn't want to be dishonest either. "She's scared, and doesn't know what's going on. Not to mention, I don't want to put her into any danger. I just want to get home."

Howard responded calmly as if he expected this, "If we do not use the prophecy, no one will want to negotiate with the spiders. Brute force is our way. This may be the one chance to end the war quickly and peaceably. If the war is brought to resolution quickly, you may return to your home sooner as it will surely mean the passages will be open. If the war continues…" Howard trailed off.

His meaning was clear. This might be the quickest way home for them. Gregor couldn't go home until the war was over or the Regalians took back the exits, and both these possibilities could take a very long time.

"You swear Luxa wants this to be a peaceful mission?" Gregor asked.

"Yes. Luxa, more than anyone, wants this war to end as soon and painlessly as possible."

He made up his mind. Gregor was tired of sitting here listening to the Underlanders yell at each other. He stood up, and spoke as loudly as he could without yelling.

"Well if anyone is interested in my opinion," he started. This, surprisingly, made everyone fall quiet. "I would like to carry out the prophecy. And I'm pretty sure my cousin will agree with me. Also," he continued, "If that is what your queen wants, I think you should show a little respect and listen to her."

They could have heard a pin drop in the room. Then Ripred broke the silence by bursting into laughter.

"Oh, Overlander, it has been dull down here without you. Welcome back!"

* * *

Wynn could do nothing but sit in bed for a while. She felt sick and her head seemed to buzz, unable to focus on any one particular thought, but at least the paralyzing fear was gone. Now she was just trying to think of how to get Gregor home. _Grace is going to kill me._ It had taken Wynn weeks to get Gregor's mom to let her take him early, and look what happened. She got stuck in a hole full of giant creatures and people who used him as a child.

The Underlanders. They used him. She could hardly believe what Gregor had told her. He had fought in a war. He was an integral part of bringing peace to this place. _But he was just a child. He still is._ Wynn couldn't figure out how Gregor could say they were good people, "nice people." How could he talk about them as if they were his friends or family? They were willing to let him die. She shook her head, and forced her tears back. She couldn't sit in bed and mope.

Wynn forced herself out of bed. She wasn't sure why, but she felt self-conscious. Maybe it went along with the feeling of being so out of place. She saw a window covered in a heavy curtain, and went to it. She pulled back the curtain and got her first look at Regalia.

She had to admit, it was one of the most beautiful cities she had seen. An enormous cavern opened up to hold the entire city. The buildings were carved right into the rock, there appeared to be something like an arena in the distance, a river flowed off to her right, and she wasn't sure, but there looked to be terraces carved out for crops. The flickering torch light gave the entire city a magical feel.

Unfortunately, looking out in the city forced her to realize she was underground. When she woke up in this room, it almost felt as if she were just inside a building. She could almost convince herself she could leave, and be outside her home any time she wanted. Now, however, looking at the enormous cavern that held the city, Wynn felt a crushing feeling of being trapped. She forced the feeling down and went to find the bathroom.

She actually liked the bath. It was deep and roomy, and the warm water kept flowing so it never got dirty. _The animals talk?_ She should have asked Gregor what he meant by that. Like actually talk, or just understand? His story didn't include a whole lot of details. _I guess I'll find out._ She reluctantly got out of the bath, and put of the soft, Underland clothes. The shirt was loose and comfortable, and she cuffed the soft pants into capris before slipping on sandals.

Wynn really wasn't in the mood to eat, but figured she should go look at the rest of the quarters. She was hesitant to go into the living room, since it looked dark. Gregor could have at least left some more lights on. She pulled back the heavy curtain, and almost jumped when she saw someone was waiting in the living room for her.

It was a woman. She had the same purple eyes, impossibly pale skin, and silver blond hair that Wynn had seen on the only other Underlanders she had seen. _They all look alike._ This woman's hair was long and fell in loose curls to her waist. She looked frail, and something in her eyes made Wynn think she might be a bit crazy. The most unsettling thing, though, was that the light reflected out of her eyes, like a cat, in the dark living room.

"Greetings, Overlander," the woman said softly. She gave a small, but sincere, smile. Wynn felt it was terribly formal, and resisted the urge to say greetings earthling.

"Hi." Wynn moved to a lamp, and turned it up.

"My name is Nerissa. I am Luxa's, the queen's, cousin." Nerissa. Wynn racked her brain to remember what Gregor told her about the woman. Henry's sister. A little crazy. Claims to have visions. "I must thank you for protecting my cousin during the battle."

"Ok," she replied awkwardly. "I'm Wynn."

"Yes, I know. I thought you might enjoy something to read. It may take your mind off the current situation." Nerissa gestured to a basket on the table. "You enjoy studying the history and culture of civilizations. These texts tell much of Regalian life." Wynn shivered. How did she know that? Did Gregor tell her? "Do be sure to read them. I insist. I am certain what you find in these will be most useful."

"Thank you," she said, and looked in the basket cautiously. It was full of fabric scrolls and books.

"Please do not be mad with us." Wynn jumped when Nerissa said that. She moved silently to stand just a bit too close to her. "We do not wish to see Gregor get hurt. There are many people who care for him here."

"You used him." Wynn didn't mean to be rude, but she couldn't help it. Nerissa just smiled weakly.

"Yes. Though, you will see that his relationships with us are not so simple." Before Wynn could reply, Nerissa turned and walked to the exit. Before leaving she turned and said, "I do hope you will help in my prophecy. I believe you are involved." With that she left. Wynn looked back down at the basket, and figured she ought to read until Gregor returned.


	4. Chapter 4

4

Gregor left the council room quickly, allowing the Underlanders to finish up their decisions, and walked straight back to his room. _I really hope Wynn agrees with me._ He wanted to keep her out of harm's way, but he also knew he needed to get home as soon as possible. He couldn't let his family worry. Hopefully she would understand, and be willing to help with the prophecy. When Gregor entered their quarters, he was surprised to see his cousin sitting at the table reading. There was a basket of scrolls and fabric books beside her.

"What's all this?" Gregor asked. Wynn jumped slightly, and looked up at Gregor.

"Reading material. Nerissa… she dropped it off. She said that I enjoyed learning about people's culture, and that it would keep my mind off everything." Wynn shivered. "That creeped me out. Also I don't know how we're on first name basis already. I mean. She's Queen Luxa's cousin, so is there a title involve with that or… " Gregor chuckled.

"You can just call them Nerissa and Luxa," Gregor assured her. "Everyone goes by their first name down here. I know they sound really formal, but some things are pretty laid back. Like titles." Wynn didn't look convinced.

"Nerissa also said something about a prophecy. That I should help." She gave Gregor a suspicious look.

"Yeah. I kind of said that we would be willing to be involved in a prophecy for them. If that's alright with you," Gregor said nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. His cousin seemed to consider this.

"Why are you so willing to help them?" she asked calmly, though it sounded like she was restraining herself.

"It might end the war, and we can get home faster." He thought that would satisfy her.

"Is that all?"

"What?"

"Is that all," she repeated. She looked him in the eyes. "You're not just doing this for some girl, are you?" Gregor couldn't believe what she was implying.

"Some girl," he asked, unable to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"Yes. Luxa. Or Queen Luxa. The queen. I don't know. The point is you better not be doing this just to impress her."

"Why would you even think that?" Gregor was annoyed now. Sure he liked her like that in the past, but that was years ago and he thought he was going to die. It was completely different now. Besides, what would Wynn know about it?

"I heard the way you talked about her, Gregor. Did you have to pick a queen to have a crush on? I mean, at least pick a queen from up top," she said pointing upward.

"I'm not saying we should do this for some crush, Wynnora. I'm trying to get home as soon as possible."

"Fine," she said curtly.

"Geez. What are you all upset about?" Gregor immediately regretted saying that.

"What am I so upset about?" she asked standing up. "I'm upset because I just fell down a hole, and now I'm stuck in some underground city. I'm upset because I just got accepted on a dig, and now that's probably over along with my career. I'm upset because I might not see my family again." Her voice was raising. "I'm upset because Grace trusted me, and I only got you into trouble. I'm upset because you were a child and they used you, Gregor. I'm upset because you never told me." She looked like she could go on, but stopped, putting her hand over her mouth as if to hold back a sob. There was a knock at the entrance.

"Come in," Gregor said.

Luxa and Ripred entered, but Gregor and his cousin ignored them. He felt awful now. He was so worried about figuring out how to take care of her and how to get her home that he forgot to just ask how Wynn was feeling. He looked at her, feeling guilty about the hurt look in her eyes.

"Anything else?" he asked softly. Wynn thought a moment.

"I think I left my keys in the car," she mumbled.

Gregor chuckled and rubbed his eyes, which got a small smile from his cousin. He turned to Luxa and Ripred.

"The council has agreed to fulfill Nerissa's prophecy," Luxa said without bothering with introductions.

"Vikus is finishing up with the arrangements, which mainly involved keeping the counselors from scratching at each other," Ripred explained.

"You should be more respectful," Luxa said, though her smirk showed that she thought much the same.

"I think he should have just let me handle it. I _am_ the peace maker." Ripred turned his gaze to Gregor's cousin. "What's the matter, Overlander? Never seen someone so handsome before? Many do find my beauty alarming." Gregor turned to Wynn, and almost laughed when he saw her staring at the scarred, talking rat with her eyes wide.

"Wynn," he said. "This is Luxa and Ripred." Her eyes flicked between the two, and she mumbled a hello. "So, what now?"

"We wish to see how much of your fighting skills you have retained," Luxa said, ignoring Wynn's stare (it was getting a little rude). "If you have no objections, we would like to go to the arena now." Aurora poked her head through the window behind them.

"Greetings, Overlanders," she said politely. Gregor didn't think it was possible, but his cousin's eyes got even bigger at the sight of the talking, gold bat.

"That's Aurora," he said to her. "You want to fly?"

"Fly?" she asked in alarm, keeping her voice down. "Are you crazy?"

"You do not trust my bond?" Luxa asked dangerously.

"No. No," Gregor said quickly. "It's not that. It's just…" He trailed off. Wynn in no way trusted the Underladners, while Gregor was pretty sure the Underlanders didn't like her much yet. Obviously his cousin didn't mean to insult them, but this first meeting wasn't going well.

"I'll walk the girl to the arena. You two go," Ripred growled. "Follow me, girl." Wynn looked to Gregor, but he only shrugged. They really didn't have that many choices. She reluctantly went with the gnawer, while Gregor went with Luxa and Aurora.

Gregor felt a little guilty, but he was glad his cousin went with Ripred. With just Luxa and Aurora, he could just enjoy flying. Aurora even did some loops and dives, and he knew they were for him. Gregor was thankful for the time alone with his old friends to just enjoy.

When they landed, Mareth asked Gregor what he remembered from his training four years ago. After getting back in touch with his cousin years ago, she had asked him if he wanted lessons in swordplay since she had seen he had become interested in it. His mother was completely opposed to the idea, so Wynn kept it a secret. They would go to lessons several times a year to learn, and Gregor loved keeping his sword skills tuned. He could now fight in several styles, and knew how to use a shield or a dagger along with his sword. Gregor was now pretty happy to tell Mareth that he had actually gotten lessons in the Overland thanks to Wynn's help.

"So she too knows how to handle a sword?" he asked. The excitement in Mareth's voice made Gregor feel bad when he had to admit that she didn't.

"Well no. Wynn was mostly in it for the history lesson. She was never very good with a sword," Gregor explained. She was actually terrible whenever she tried, if he was perfectly honest. This seemed to disappoint the Underlanders, because, Gregor assumed, she would be far more useful with some combat skills. Gregor continued, "She is pretty good with a bow. Her parents had her learn it when she was really young. Would archery be useful?"

"Not nearly as useful as a sword," Luxa said a bit too bluntly. She could be a bit too honest at times.

"Any skills she may possess will be welcomed," Mareth said, giving Luxa a stern look. "Besides, there have been a number of battles won with archers, and a queen would do well to remember this." Luxa looked away, though she didn't actually look mad so much as bored at Mareth's gentle reprimand. _So Mareth still gets to talk to his queen like a coach._

Mareth had Gregor go through some drills with Luxa, but it quickly escalated to fighting. Luxa was fast, but Gregor was stronger. He realized that if he used some of his rager instincts he could still beat her, but decided to challenge the skills he had learned. He was actually having fun, and it appeared Luxa was as well. She flipped around him, as flexible as ever, smiling as she slashed at him. Gregor grinned back as he blocked and countered. Mareth seemed pleased with what he saw. Soon Ripred and Wynn showed up to the arena, and it appeared they were talking.

"You should teach your cousin here some manners," Ripred said as he walked up to them. Gregor wondered what they could have been talking about. "Or to at least know who she can take that tone with."

"You're one to talk," Wynn mumbled.

"I wouldn't take an attitude with me, little miss. You're practically useless, and I could kill you in a second," Ripred spat. Wynn just looked tired of him.

"Well I could be the comic relief," she suggested, "or is that your job, Mr. Sassy Pants?"

Luxa whispered to Gregor, "I can see they have become fast friends." Gregor was _not_ excited about this trip. Out loud, she said, "I see you have handled your first meeting with a gnawer well. I am impressed, especially considering the terrible company that Ripred is."

"Well, it's not my first time talking to an ass," Wynn replied dryly.

"This one is cheeky, isn't she? I guess one so useless has to compensate by having a sharp tongue," Ripred growled.

"Is that why _you_ talk so much, Ripred," Gregor asked. He wanted to defend his cousin, but he knew he was only making the situation worse. Wynn and the Underlanders may not be getting along, but Gregor didn't have to let her feel alone. Luckily Mareth stepped in to defuse the tension.

"Greetings, Overlander, my name is Mareth. I am the general of the Regalian army. Gregor has informed me that you have some skill in archery. Perhaps you would allow me a demonstration." Wynn glared at Gregor, and he gave a weak smile back.

Howard came up behind Luxa, and Gregor heard him whisper "what have I missed?" Luxa only shushed him.

"First off, my name is Wynnora. Or Wynn. Or Wynnie. It doesn't really matter. Second, archery is a hobby. I wouldn't call it a skill." Wynn's voice was cold. Gregor wondered if his quick telling of his story didn't leave the right impression of the Regalians. He couldn't imagine how she could be so curt with Mareth. He was such an immediately likable guy.

"I would still like to see what abilities you do have," Mareth insisted, and handed her a bow made of some kind of bone, a quiver of metal arrows, and something to protect her arm and hand from the string. "I believe these will suit you." Wynn eyed Mareth cautiously, though Gregor thought it was because he was such a large man and carrying several weapons, not because he was an Underlander.

"Go on, Wynnie," Ripred said in a condescending tone. " _Try_ to hit anything you like." Wynn glared at him. In one swift motion, she took an arrow from the quiver and shot is straight into the ground next to Ripred's paws, who only stood a few feet from her. He growled.

"Try not to look too impressed," Wynn said with a mean smirk, "I was aiming for you claw." The other Underlanders looked concerned that she might not be able to do much or that she was all attitude, but Gregor snickered.

"Watch yourself, girl," Ripred said threateningly. "Aim for that target over there," he ordered, pointing with his tail. It must have been 25 yards away. "Hit the bullseye and I might not eat you."

"And if I don't hit the bullseye?" Wynn inquired.

"Then I will definitely eat you," Ripred said with a smile revealing his sharp teeth. This time Gregor's cousin did flinch.

"That's motivating," she mumbled, taking a deep breath. Then she pulled out an arrow, took aim, and loosed it. It buried itself deep in the bullseye. Wynn looked impressed. "These are really good," she said, her cold tone leaving her voice for the moment as she re-examined the weapon. Mareth smiled proudly at the praise of Regalian weapons. Ripred wasn't done yet though. He flicked his tail, sending a bloodball into the air. Wynn drew an arrow and hit it, sending droplets of red liquid everywhere. The rat flicked up eight more bloodballs, and Wynn hit five. Gregor smiled as he looked at the shocked, but impressed faces of the humans.

"I guess that will do for now, Wynnie," Ripred said.

* * *

Introducing his cousin to Howard was even more awkward than introducing her to Luxa. Gregor could tell she didn't like him one bit. _Then again, she probably doesn't like any of the Underlanders._ He had failed to tell her any good or funny memories he had of his friends down here, and he regretted that. All Wynn had to go off of was stories about how they used him to end a war.

"I hope my cousin's behavior," Luxa said, "did not make your entrance into the Underland too jarring. More so than need be, I mean." Wynn looked at the queen thoughtfully. To Gregor, it looked like she was sizing Luxa up. Luxa was clearly doing the same to her.

"Please accept my apologies," Howard cut in. "I merely wished to retreat as quickly as possible, and thought that your condition would make flying… difficult." Wynn's eyes flicked to him with a dirty look.

"Think nothing of it. I love being drugged by strangers."

"Do you have to be so sarcastic?" Gregor mumbled. "Be nice," he added a little louder. "They'll both be with us for the trip along with Ripred and some fliers you're about to meet." Wynn looked at him in disbelief.

"What?"

"Gregor is correct," Luxa cut in. "These will be the members of our party." Wynn continued to look at Gregor.

"You mean we're going on a diplomatic mission to end a war with an adolescent queen, a glorified life guard, and Master Splinter?" Luxa and Howard looked insulted, though they couldn't have possibly known what half of what she said meant, but Gregor cut them off before they could say anything (or Luxa could draw her weapon).

"Stop it, Wynn," he said firmly. "You don't to be so rude. You're only making things more difficult."

"You don't see a problem with this?"

"No, I don't," Gregor snapped. He grabbed her arm, and pulled her away from the Underlanders, shooting Luxa an apologetic look as he walked away. "What is your problem? Why are you like this right now?" he snapped when the others couldn't hear.

"What do you mean?" Wynn asked. "They're pompous, rude, and probably going to get us killed. Why should I be polite to them?"

"Because they're actually nice people," Gregor hissed. "My friends. Did you forget that they have all saved my life at one point?"

"Did you forget that they manipulated you as a child so you would then be willing to die for them?" she shot back.

"You don't understand anything," Gregor snapped a bit too loudly. He took a deep breath to calm back down, and hopefully not draw more attention to them. "You just don't get it. You have no idea what I've been through with them."

"Oh, so you're going to choose them over me?"

"Yes." Wynn's look of anger instantly melted away into one of shock. She looked as though Gregor had slapped her in the face. He felt awful for hurting her feelings, but she needed to hear this. He pushed down the sick feeling he had in his stomach, and forced himself to continue. "They're my friends and family, and you can't talk to them like that. I know you don't understand, and that you hate them right now. But if you keep doing this, I'm going to defend them."

Wynn looked away, biting her lip. It probably wasn't easy being yelled at by someone four years younger than her, but he couldn't let her keep acting like that. He was getting tired of flipping back and forth to defend and reprimand everyone. He hoped that he could get Wynn to understand how he felt about the Underlanders, but it seemed impossible at the moment. Gregor led his cousin back over to the Underlander, where Aurora and Nike landed next to them, their wings sending gusts of air over the group. Wynn couldn't hide her awe for the fliers. Her jaw dropped slightly and her eyes widened at the full sight of them. Luxa stepped up to her bond with a smug smile.

"Meet you Aurora, my bond, and Nike, princess of the fliers." Luxa gestured to each in turn. They nodded to Wynn, and she gave a small wave back. She couldn't keep her eyes from Nike.

"I am pleased to see you look well, Overlander," Nike said good-humoredly. "You were unconscious when first I saw you." Gregor's cousin mumbled something about calling her Wynn. Luxa and her cousin excused themselves, so Gregor thought it was time to get Wynn back to their quarters to talk.

Gregor asked Nike if she would mind taking him and his cousin back to the palace. She happily agreed. Wynn's first ride (awake that is) was worse than his own. She kept apologizing, and Gregor knew she didn't appreciate riding on a princess. When they finally got in the air, Gregor had to remind her to breath, and she barely kept her balance. She also kept checking above her to see where the ceiling was, which no doubt made her dizzy. Gregor had to try hard to keep from laughing, and he was glad the good natured Nike was the one to help his cousin the first time.

Nike dropped them off in High Hall, and Wynn thanked her and smiled. Then she shakily walked to a seat and collapsed.

"Congratulations," Gregor said sarcastically, "I think that was the first time Wynn gave a real smile down here." Nike chuckled.

"Then I am honored," she replied. "I shall see you tomorrow when we leave." With that she flew off again. It had been a long day, so when they got back to their room, Gregor ate and went right to bed. He was slightly concerned that his cousin didn't eat, but she said she was sick from the flight. She stayed up reading instead.

* * *

 **Ok, so I'd like to apologize now for focusing too much on my OC in the coming chapters. I don't mean to, it's just that I'm using her to make some conflict. Anyways, I hope you're all enjoying the story.**


	5. Chapter 5

5

The next day Gregor woke up when Wynn called to him. He opened his eyes to see her standing over him.

"Get up. I need help."

"Ok. Ok," Gregor mumbled groggily. It was so hard to wake up in the dark. It always felt like night. He dragged himself out of bed, then quickly washed up and ate breakfast. His cousin was rushing him.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to take," she admitted. Gregor finally got a good look at her, and was slightly concerned about the dark circle under her eyes. He helped her pack, trying to remember what was useful to him. They made a quick trip to the museum and grabbed a roll of duct tape, a few flashlights, and as many batteries as they could find. Wynn also found her things, and took her notebook with her.

"Don't be too worried, Wynnie," Gregor said, trying to calm her down. "Most everything will be taken care of. And I promise they will try to keep us safe." She nodded nervously, but didn't seem to believe him. A Regalian stuck her head through the curtain to the museum, and told them to be in the High Hall in two hours.

Gregor and Wynn took their time walking to the hall. Though she was still clearly stressed, she appeared to be enjoying looking at everything, and stopped several times to look at something in the hallways. Gregor tried to keep from smiling. He knew she would be angry at him if she knew he thought it was funny and ironic that she couldn't keep from liking Regalia.

They ended up getting to High Hall early despite taking their time, and decided to sit there for a while to talk. Wynn talked about the interesting things she read, which was apparently all history, and Gregor wondered if she bothered sleeping. He barely listened to her, and let her rant on. Instead his mind drifted to the mission they were about to go on. He wondered if it would be like before. Part of him wanted it to be the same, because he had enjoyed at least some of the times with Luxa and Ares and Aurora. Then again, he really didn't want all the danger. _Maybe I can ride with Luxa._

Mareth and Howard were the first of the Underlanders to arrive. Mareth first introduced his bond, Andromeda, to Wynn. Andromeda seemed happy enough to see Gregor again, and nodded to him. Other than Nike, Gregor saw another two fliers with them.

"Meet you Apollo and Persephone," Howard said. Each flier nodded in turn. They were both gray and a little difficult to tell apart, but Persephone was smaller. "They will be accompanying us on our journey. For the beginning of our journey, Gregor you will ride with your cousin on Apollo," he explained. Wynn wandered to a window to wait by herself, which made Howard frown.

"I am afraid your cousin does not like me," he said. "This will make traveling most unpleasant."

Gregor shrugged, "Now you know not to go sedating people."

"Yes, thank you for the valuable lesson," Howard said with a serious face, though Gregor could tell he was joking. Gregor hid a smile. At least no one was throwing insults anymore.

Luxa, Ripred, and Vikus arrived together with two shiners. Luxa was dressed to travel, and had a sword and several daggers. Gregor found it difficult to look away, though he told himself it was just her confidence that demanded attention. Gregor involuntarily flinched at the sight of the shiners though, and Howard and Nike didn't bother hiding their glares.

"Meet you the shiners Lumis and Gleam," Vikus said.

" _I_ wanted to introduce us!" Lumis shouted.

"Oh hush, you do a terrible job anyway," Gleam spat. If Gregor remembered correctly how shiner lights worked, Lumis was a male and Gleam a female. Wynn shot Gregor a look of what he assumed to be fear. Her eyes seemed to say, "There is no way I can survive this trip with them." He shrugged back at her. Suddenly giant talking animals didn't seem so amazing.

The shiners bickered for a few minutes until Luxa silenced them and determined it was time to go. Gregor climbed on Apollo, and Wynn climbed up awkwardly behind him. She must have apologized six times. Luxa and Howard gracefully climbed on Aurora and Nike respectively.

"Be safe on your journey, and may it be a success. Fly you high," Vikus said. His grandchildren and Gregor returned the farewell and they left. Gregor noticed that Ripred had left a few minutes earlier. _I guess he'll be walking_.

As they flew out of the city, the tunnel narrowed. Gregor thought there was still plenty of room, as did the fliers, but he could tell Wynn wasn't comfortable. She kept holding her breath, and her shoulders were tense. Worse yet, she kept looking up to see where the top of the tunnel was, and Gregor assumed that made her dizzy. It wasn't long before she held her stomach from motion sickness. Gregor suddenly missed his sister very much. She was so much easier down here.

They flew on for about two hours, and Gregor let his mind wander. He wondered where Ripred was in the darkness below. He wondered what his family was thinking and doing right now. He looked over at Luxa, and she smiled at him before flying forward. He noticed she had a different crown now, a delicate gold band, and he thought it looked good on her. It was simple, but Luxa didn't need an overly glamorous crown to look regal. Gregor must have zoned out, because he was suddenly pulled back to reality by a groan from his cousin. Before he could react, she slipped right off Apollo.

"Wynn!" Gregor called.

"Worry not, Overlander," Apollo said calmly, "Nike was below us, and has caught her." Gregor sighed in relief. He could already hear talking below him.

"Nike, could you please land for a minute." It was Wynn's voice. She sounded sick.

"We are not yet scheduled to break, Overlander," Howard responded.

"I didn't ask you," Wynn snapped back. "Nike, this is more of a suggestion than a request."

"I shall land briefly, if that is what you wish," Nike said.

They all landed on the floor of the tunnel. Wynn immediately slid off Nike, and walked away from the group and nearly into the darkness. There she threw up. Gregor saw relief spread across Nike's face that she avoided that. Luxa and Howard just stared at her like she had three heads.

"I do not understand why your cousin is so much trouble. She is not a child," Luxa said. "Boots was easier to manage than her." Her cousin nodded. Gregor rubbed his eyes in frustration. He felt like everyone was wearing on him. _Why can't they be more understanding?_ He looked at them, and lowered his voice.

"Look," he started, "it's not easy making the transition from Overland to Underland. Wynn hasn't complained to you, but this has been really hard on her. Not only does she get motion sickness, but she has also been holding back a panic attack from being in a closed, dark area for two days." Gregor could hear her breathing heavy and figured that panic attack came out now. "The least you two could do is try to be understanding." Howard looked embarrassed, but Luxa just glared at Gregor. He assumed she wanted to say something back to him about talking to a queen like that, but she held her tongue. Gregor wasn't willing to apologize for saying what she needed to hear. The fliers rustled their wings in the uncomfortable situation.

When Gregor turned back around he was surprised to see Ripred standing beside Wynn. He seemed to be talking to her. After a few minutes, Wynn and Ripred walked back to the group, and they all continued on without a word.

Hours later, they landed for the night ( _Or whatever they call it down here_ ). Gregor noticed Wynn was so shaky on her legs she could barely stand. He told her to sit down, and then helped Luxa and Howard take the supplies off the fliers. He was pretty sore himself from riding a flier all day, but he could ignore it. Ripred finally walked in on them, and everyone settled down.

After they handed out food, everyone sat around in silence. _Geez, this is kind of awkward._ It was Luxa who broke the silence.

"You do not like us, do you, Overlander?"

"Oh geez," Gregor muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"Seems about right," Wynn replied matter of factly.

"Luxa please," Howard said quietly. Ripred chuckled.

"What? She admitted it. I see nothing wrong with what I said," Luxa replied, sitting up a little straighter. "She has been inconsiderate since she arrived, and I do not have to stand for this behavior as queen." Why did she have to act like this? Gregor would always consider Luxa one of his closest friends, but she could really get on his nerves.

"You're a 15 year old girl," Wynn said back, sounding bored. "You really have no say in how I 'behave'."

"Careful," Ripred warned. "You're getting the flier all worked up." Gregor didn't notice before, but Aurora was tensed behind his cousin.

"Mind your tongue, Overlander," Howard added.

"Or what? You all seem to only hurt children, so I doubt you'll do anything to me," Wynn snapped back.

" _You're_ still a child yourself," Ripred chuckled. He was clearly amused by all the kids acting like grown-ups.

"Enough!" Gregor yelled. "All of you." Luxa was turning red with anger, and together with her cousin she glared at Wynn. Aurora still crouched in the darkness. Now that they all sat quietly, Gregor really had no idea what to say. "Either… Either say something nice, or don't say anything at all."

"That will teach them, boy," Ripred said as he walked away to curl up for sleep. "Now be quiet so I can get my beauty sleep. You would not like me when I am ugly."

"I don't like you now," Wynn mumbled. Gregor shot her a look, and she fell silent again.

"Then it will be worse if you don't keep quiet so I can sleep," Ripred growled.

Wynn looked down at her hands in slight fear, and kept quiet. Gregor rubbed his eyes again. He knew things would be difficult, but this was torture. Honestly, he had thought the shiners would be the problem, not his friends. What made it worse was that both sides were both right and wrong, and he had no idea how to get them to see that. It felt like they were fighting over him. _This is exhausting._

Gregor had had it with all of them, and walked away to sleep. He told Howard, who had first watch, to wake him when it was his turn. Unfortunately, Gregor didn't sleep well. Everyone's bickering filled his dreams, and soon their faces changed between human and gnawer and flier. It was so unsettling that Gregor was glad to take his turn at watch.

When he took his place near the small fire, his cousin came to sit with him. He didn't mind. Having some company would make it easier to stay awake, and he really didn't want to fall asleep while on watch. Gregor turned to his cousin and lowered his voice so that the others couldn't hear even if they were awake.

"Why don't you like them?" he asked.

"Why should I?" she whispered back, her voice mostly sad. "They lied to you, and used you. And now they have us on some insane mission that will most likely get us all killed." She looked at him side long, and made face. It reminded Gregor of when his sisters were little and they saw broccoli. "And I will not have some 15 year old talk like that to me." Gregor sighed.

"There's more to them than all that. They're my friends." He could think of no way to get her understand this.

"Well from what I heard, they're war crazy and use children." Gregor flinched, which made Wynn's face soften. "Sorry," she muttered. "Why don't you tell me a more humanizing story about them?"

"Once upon a time, I fell into an underground city inhabited by _humans_ ," Gregor joked. It got a small smile from his cousin.

"Tell me something that actually shows they're nice people." He thought for a moment, then decided on an embarrassing story.

"Don't tell anyone this, ok?" She nodded. "Remembered when I said me, Luxa, Howard, Maggie, and Hazard went to look for the nibblers?" She nodded again. "It didn't start out like that."

Gregor explained how Howard wasn't originally invited, but confronted Luxa and Gregor anyway. He explained how he needed to think of an excuse to get rid of him, and Luxa couldn't think of anything.

"Gregor, you didn't," Wynn said, trying to hold back a smile.

"I did. I said it was a date," he admitted. "And it was worse than that. I had to explain what a date was." Wynn put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing and called him an idiot. "I thought Luxa was going to kill me, she looked so embarrassed. They turn completely red when they're embarrassed. Howard almost believed me. Then later, when we were alone, he brought it up."

"What did he say?" Wynn asked, clearly interested.

"Oh you know. Don't use that excuse again. Here is a whole list of reasons why. I think it came down to don't touch my cousin." Wynn covered her laughs again. "Man, I was only 12. I don't know what he was thinking."

"Same thing as you would think if it was Lizzie and some boy." For a moment, realization of what she said spread across her face, but she seemed to push it aside. Gregor shrugged. He wasn't _that_ protective. "Any excuse would have been better than that," she chuckled, shaking her head.

"Oh yeah. What would you have said?" Wynn thought a moment.

"No hablo ingles," she said with a giggle.

"We know you speak English, Wynn."

"Hey, I didn't say it was a good excuse. Just better than yours." They both covered their laughter, then sat a few minutes in the quiet darkness.

"Please just try to give them a chance," Gregor whispered. His cousin refused to look at him.

"I'll try if they try," she said. Gregor guessed that was the best he could hope for.

* * *

When everyone woke up, the company quickly packed and set about their journey again. Gregor never realized how boring traveling through a dark tunnel could be. He wished he could ride with Luxa, because they always talked when he was down here last time. He remembered how she would lean on his back. However, Gregor knew he couldn't leave his cousin, and that she would probably find it suspicious if he wanted to ride with the queen. He didn't understand why she couldn't just accept that they were friends and leave them alone.

They only stopped briefly for lunch, and Ripred had to threaten to eat the shiners to get them to stop fighting over some food. Then they continued on until breaking for the day. This time Luxa and Howard began discussing terms of negotiation. Luxa was stubborn with a negotiation tactic that went something like we will not kill all of you if you give us our land back. Howard tried to talk her down from this by suggesting offering them some land to keep. Ripred was just listening for the moment.

Wynn leaned over to Gregor and whispered, "I don't think they're doing this right." Gregor asked why. "Well why would the spiders want more land? They never tried to take it in the past. At least not from what I read in the stuff Nerissa gave me. I think they don't understand the motives of the spiders. I think Nerissa does." Gregor considered this, then spoke to the arguing cousins.

"Why did the spinners attack?" Luxa looked at him as if she forgot he was there.

"Who knows? Most of the creatures of the Underland despise the humans. That is why we are at war so much. Perhaps they thought it was just their turn to take a strike at us," she explained. Gregor wasn't impressed, but it was Wynn who spoke up.

"That's ridiculous," she blurted out. Luxa shot her a frightening look. Gregor elbowed his cousin hard, and she let her eyes drop to the ground.

"You would do well to watch how you speak to a queen," Luxa said coldly. Gregor heard Ripred chuckle and say something about this being fun. _So much for understanding._

"Well then, I'm sorry," Wynn said, clearly making an attempt to sound sincere, "but wars are not fought just for the hell of it."

Howard was annoyed as well, "And what would an Overlander know of our affairs?" he asked pointedly.

"The Overland isn't that different," Gregor put in quickly, desperate to calm everyone down. "Maybe she can help a little." They all seemed to be ignoring him.

"Your cousin gave me some records to read about Regalian history and trade. She was clearly trying to make a point. A point you weren't listening to. I just assumed you listened to her and read them too. Then again, I guess a queen is too busy to waste time with such things," Wynn shot. This was getting out of hand.

"Hey guys, let's just-" Gregor tried again.

"How dare you speak to me in such a tone!"

"It's the only tone you seem to listen to!" Wynn yelled back. All attempts at remaining civil were gone. Aurora began to position herself behind Luxa, so Wynn turned her anger on the flier too. "You know maybe you'd be more likable if you didn't get all threatening every time someone challenged your opinion." Luxa's hand tightened on her sword.

"It is not my fault you are easily threatened, Overlander. I will allow you to challenge my opinion when you know what you are talking about. For now, keep quiet in your ignorance!" Wynn's jaw dropped in shock.

"Oh I know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about a bunch of war crazed people blaming others for the fights they start!" That was enough for Luxa. She drew her sword, and began to lunge for Wynn, making the Overlander flinch. Luckily, Howard twisted the weapon from her hand before she got too far. Luxa stopped in her tracks.

"We do not start wars, we-"

"Oh no, of course not. You just finish them by throwing little boys in to die." Luxa lunged at Wynn again, tackling her to the ground. Wynn hit the queen in her side, and they rolled together fighting on the ground. Aurora moved forward to help Luxa, but Nike kept her back (a flier intervening could really do some damage, and Wynn would definitely be the victim). Gregor tried to yell at them to stop, but it was useless. They were both behaving like children, and that's exactly how he needed to treat them. He looked to Howard, who nodded to him in understanding, and they pulled their cousins apart: Luxa restrained by Howard, and Gregor twisting Wynn's arm back.

"You two need to stop now!" Gregor yelled, but was just ignored again.

"You have no right to judge us, Overlander!" Luxa yelled, fighting against her cousin. "Where were you when his family needed help? You were not there for him!"

"I was cut off from them because everyone down here was holding my family members hostage! My uncle. My cousins. My aunt. You took them all!"

"Like you made an effort to see them. You did not care. _I_ was there for him and his family! Gregor was alone, and we helped him! Not you!"

"How? By throwing him in to die? Is that what you're planning now? Hey let's just try to kill Gregor again to win this war too!"

"You understand nothing! You will never know him as I do!"

"Both of you stop," Howard said firmly as Luxa squirmed in his arms.

"It's all more complicated than that," Gregor added. It was no use. They were being ignored by Luxa and Wynn.

"Release me, cousin!" Luxa fought against Howard, who was beginning to struggle keeping hold of her. "I will teach this girl some respect!" Gregor tried to think of another way to calm them, and accidently loosened his grip on Wynn. She took the opportunity to break free and knock him to the ground.

"You know, princess. You're being a royal pain in my-" She was cut off by Luxa's hand breaking free and slapping her across the face. Her whole body turned from the force of the blow, and when she looked back to Luxa, Wynn touched her cheek more from shock that Luxa had actually slapped her than pain. Her eyes flared with anger.

"Enough!" Gregor yelled, standing back up. Wynn was about to attack Luxa again, whom Howard had protectively pushed behind him, when Ripred leaped in and swept Wynn's legs from beneath her with his tail. She plopped to the ground, and stayed there when Ripred bared his teeth at here.

"Alright I'm bored with this," he growled dangerously. "No one cares about jealous little spats, so keep it to yourselves. Let's hear what Wynnie the expert has to say."

"I don't even remember what we were talking about," Wynn said, wiping blood from her lip. A red mark was forming across her cheek. Howard let go of Luxa, who stepped away from him with a dirty look.

"We were talking about the spinners' motives," Gregor explained as calmly as possible after he took a deep breath.

"Oh, right. Nerissa," she mumbled. "Three years ago, the war with the gnawers was ended. You quickly rebuilt your city then turned your attention to botany. Smart move on your part for once." Luxa took a step forward, but Ripred gave her a look that stopped her. "Except one of the plants you raised was used in the making of fabric, which was an item you previously only traded for from the spinners." Luxa still glared at her, but realization spread across Howard's face. Gregor understood too.

"You stopped trading with the spinners," Gregor said. "Or at least, you're not trading as much as before. They didn't attack you just because. They took your land as a bargaining chip for trade again. What did you trade with them?"

"Medicine and fuel," Howard said, running both hands through his hair.

"And labor that requires thumbs," Ripred put in.

"How did you arrive at this conclusion?" Luxa asked. She said it as if demanding an answer, looking down smugly on Wynn who still sat on the ground. She was clearly proud of the shot she got in, especially since it made her bleed.

"It was your cousin who left me the information, and told me what to read. This was her idea. Maybe you can try listening some time." Wynn's tone was so sharp Gregor was surprised Luxa didn't try to slap her again.

"Enough, Overlander," Howard said firmly, glaring down at Wynn. She looked over to Gregor, but he was too mad at her to defend her. She deserved more than just a sharp word from Howard, though Luxa's slap was a bit much. Really Gregor was embarrassed and angry with both the girls.

Luxa nodded, then immediately changed strategies to involve trade goods. Ripred got involved this time, and together they created a plan for negotiations.

* * *

 **Well that was interesting. I feel kinda bad for Gregor. Anyway, next time we'll see what Luxa is thinking.**


	6. Chapter 6

6

The next day, the party got up and packed quickly. Howard said they would reach the half way point in a few hours, and they would be able to get more supplies there as planned. Luxa hoped something interesting would happen, because she did not know how much longer she could stand traveling in silence that was only broken by the bickering of Lumis and Gleam. She had hoped Gregor would ask to ride with her and Aurora by now, but it would appear he intended to stay with his needy cousin.

Then again, he was clearly furious with her. After her fight with Wynnora the day before, Gregor had barely talked to either of them, staying instead with Howard or Ripred. Luxa refused to apologize, though she thought she saw his cousin try to. Wynnora deserved it. She had no right speaking to the queen like that, especially about things she did not fully understand. Luxa and Gregor were friends. Closer than he and his cousin could ever be, especially since she was never there for him before. How dare she say such things? Then again, was what she said not true? And she did listen to Nerissa to come up with some useful ideas. Luxa pushed the thoughts from her mind so she could continue being angry.

The party arrived at the half way point around the same time they would have taken their first break. It was a military outpost watched by a handful of soldiers. The tunnel opened up into a large cave. About two thirds of the cave was taken up by a lake, but the third that was ground had plenty of space for campsites, supplies, fliers, and training. Luxa had never visited this outpost before, and was impressed with what she saw. Everything appeared to be in order, the soldiers looked focused, and there was plenty of room for the fliers to stretch their wings.

Luxa had intended to leave as soon as possible, and began having the supplies prepared so they could leave right away. Ripred walked up to her and stopped her.

"Why don't we wait until tomorrow to leave? It will be five or six days before the fliers or myself will have a good rest again. Besides, that lake looks like a good place for Wynnie to learn to fly," he said.

"What?" Wynnora asked, clearly concerned. Luxa could not help feeling some satisfaction from her discomfort. Though she felt bad that the Overlander had had a very stressful time over the last few days, she still felt personally insulted by her sarcastic remarks and insolent tone. Then again, Luxa was impressed with the Overlander's habit of standing up to Ripred.

"Indeed it is," said a soldier, though Luxa noticed he kept his distance from Ripred. That did not surprise her. The war may be over with them, but hostility was still present. "The lake is completely empty for the most part. There is occasionally a creature which hunts fliers, but we have scanned the lake already today. It would be safe for her to learn to fly, and have the water break her fall."

"It would give us some time to think of alternative negotiation strategies," Howard added.

"I agree. We shall remain here, and continue on tomorrow," Luxa said. She gave instruction for the fliers to be unpacked, and the supplies to all be stacked together. The soldiers rushed to carry out her order. The queen turned back around, and saw Gregor exchanging a look with his cousin.

"But I don't want to learn to fly," she said, clearly nervous.

"It will be fun," Gregor insisted, giving her that reassuring smile of his. Luxa doubted Wynnora liked the idea of learning something as difficult as riding a flier in front of people who were experts. Luxa expected her to avoid learning, but she surprisingly agreed. Nike volunteered to teach her. Luxa went to stand by Gregor and watched as she took off her boots and shirt. Howard blushed deeply and looked away. Luxa heard Gregor mumble something about 'bikinis,' but she decided not to ask about it.

"She intends to fall in," Luxa said.

"Yeah." Gregor chuckled. "She's not stupid. She knows she's going to mess up."

"Did she have to remove her clothing?"

"Yeah. Why not? It's better than getting everything soaked." Luxa saw the logic in that. Besides, men often removed their shirts, so why should women not to the same? "Want to take bets on how many times she'll go in before quitting?" Gregor asked. Luxa made sure to keep herself from smiling, though he often made that difficult.

"Twice." She knew it was low, but she did not think Wynnora would last long.

"You don't have any confidence in her," Gregor said, shaking his head at her. "I say at least six."

With that they heard a splash, then Wynnora's laughter.

"She knows how to laugh?" Howard asked. Luxa was surprised too. She had just assumed the girl had no sense of humor. Gregor looked at them amused.

"She actually laughs a lot."

Luxa scanned the lake, and could just make out the Overlander in the dim light of the torches. She appeared to be swimming back, but Nike grabbed her arm and flew her back to the ground instead. She wobbled for a moment on her legs, unsurprising considering she appeared to have little coordination (she had fallen for no reason the other day), then went out again with Nike. The more Wynnora fell, the more Nike laughed. They were both having fun.

Luxa sat down with Gregor. It was the first time she had a moment alone with him. He was looking at her as if he could read what she was feeling at the moment. She turned to him and raised her eyebrows in question.

"What's wrong?" he asked her. Luxa frowned. There was something wrong, but she was not sure she wanted to talk to Gregor about it. She had not seen him in three years, and she wondered if she could still talk to him. She sighed, he could not have changed that much.

"How is it that an Overlander who has spent less than two days in Regalia had more insight on its problems than its own queen?" she asked. "I should have drawn such a conclusion already. Or at least my council should have. We are so used to a war fought on hate and prejudice that I never considered the possibility that the spinners may be justified." Luxa stared out over the lake, refusing to look at Gregor.

"First off, I don't really think there is any way to justify starting a war. Don't beat yourself up," Gregor told her. "Wynn lives for political stuff like this. She loves looking through records to see the motives behind countries. Besides, Nerissa was the one who really thought of this. You should really be thanking her." Luxa appreciated him trying to help, but it still did not make her feel better. She was the one who was supposed to live for Regalian politics and economy. And Nerissa was _her_ cousin. Gregor continued. "She could have never come up with a plan like you did, Luxa. Maybe she got the ball rolling, but you knew just what Regalia had, and what it could offer. That's how teams work. Different opinions are great for this sort of thing," he said with a smile. "Vikus mentioned that."

"Perhaps I should listen to my council more to avoid such blindness in the future."

"I think Vikus would appreciate that, but maybe get a better council." Luxa could not keep the smile from her face this time. She did want to make her grandfather proud, and a council would definitely help with that (though she needed one better than the group she had now). Also, Gregor's compliments sounded so sincere, that Luxa could not help believing them. She _did_ form a negotiation strategy, and she was listening to advice. Surely those are signs of a good queen. Perhaps in a year she would be ready to be full queen. They talked for another hour or so, before Gregor started to look worried that his cousin had been out with Nike for too long.

There came another splash, and Nike laughed so hard she crashed into the ground and could not get up again. Luxa walked over to her cousin, and could not hold back her laughter at the flier's hiccups. Gregor walked to the lake's edge and looked out into the water.

"Do you see Wynn?" he asked Aurora who fluttered over when Nike landed.

"No," she replied. Her ears twitched. "There is something in the water."

* * *

Gregor's heart stopped.

"Wynn!" he yelled. "Wynn!" Everyone stopped laughing and watched the water in silence. The lake was still, and Wynn was nowhere to be seen. Gregor desperately scanned the black water, and clicked his tongue to try to find her in the darkness. Then he heard her again. There was splashing and she coughed water, but he heard her. A wave of relief washed over Gregor so fast he almost fell over. She must have just stayed under the water too long.

"I am coming to retrieve you, Wynnora!" Nike called out, and started to get up.

"No wait," Wynn coughed. "Don't do that! There's something out here!"

"What do you mean?" Gregor called back. He scanned the water and saw ripples forming on the lake's surface. His relief vanished.

"I," she gasped. "I don't know. Just don't let Nike out here."

"She is correct, we recognize the pattern of ripples in the water" said a soldier. "The creature which has the Overlander is most likely using her as bait for a flier. We cannot retrieve her." Gregor felt a sudden wave of nausea. He wanted to yell at the stupid soldier because _he_ was the one that said it was safe. Instead, he focused on the problem.

"Wynn, try to swim back!" Gregor called urgently. No reply. "Wynn!" More coughing and splashing. "Try to swim!"

"Sorry. Gregor," She said slowly. "It won't let me. Also I think it dislocated my kn-" She must have been pulled under again. More coughing. _That's it, I'm going after her._ He was the only one who could save her, there was no way the others would help.

"You are not going in there," Howard said as if reading his mind, and shoved a rope into Gregor's arms. Gregor hadn't been paying attention to the Underlanders, but they were busy behind him. The soldiers moved all the fliers as far from the lake as possible, and Luxa and Howard had grabbed the rope at some point.

"Why not? She can't swim back. I can't leave her out there." Howard tied the roped around himself.

"Yes I know. You will stay here. I expect I am a better swimmer." That was probably true. Gregor could swim, but he wasn't the best at it. Maggie was the swimmer in the family. "Think of a way to distract the creature, and be sure to pull me back in." Was that a joke? Gregor didn't plan to even let go of the rope. With that Howard dove into the water.

"I never should have doubted them," Gregor mumbled. Luxa looked at him in confusion, but he just shook his head. Gregor thought a moment then turned to Luxa.

"Would you be willing to be a distraction?" Gregor asked her. He wasn't sure if it was the smartest idea to use the queen, but he was confident in Luxa's and Aurora's skills. Not to mention, he really didn't trust these soldiers now.

She smiled confidently, "That creature could never hope to catch _us_." She quickly climbed onto Aurora.

"Wait," Gregor said. "If you go out too soon, it will catch on." Whatever _it_ was. In the dim light, it was difficult to see out into the lake, and Gregor's echolocation was useless since the creature was under water. All he could make out was that it was big. Nike told him that Howard had reached Wynn. "Don't get anywhere near where that thing might catch you," Gregor told Luxa. "Be safe." She nodded, and they took off.

When Luxa and Aurora flew above Howard and Wynn, the creature shot straight up out of the water to snatch Aurora out of the air. Gregor could now see it was an enormous eel, though it appeared to have tentacle like feelers on its head capable of grabbing its prey. Its slimy body was as thick as a tree, and Gregor could see torch light reflected on its long teeth. Aurora narrowly avoided it, spiraling to the left and up. Gregor was amazed Luxa could stay on as they nimbly avoided its other attacks.

"Pull!" Howard called, and Gregor, along with the soldiers, pulled as fast as they could. The creature, which had been distracted with Aurora, saw what was happening, and turned its attention to catching its bait again. Gregor hoped they had enough of a head start to pull them in.

The creature was gaining on them fast as it slithered through the water, and Gregor pulled harder out of fear that it would catch them. Its mouth opened, revealing its deadly teeth again, and creeped closer to Howard and Wynn. Just has it was about to bite down onto the two humans Apollo and Persephone grabbed the rope and pulled them sharply out of the water. The eel leaped out the water for one last grab at a flier, and missed. Its head landed on the edge of the lake and snapped a few times before it pushed itself back into the water. Everyone rushed away from the lake's edge, and stared at the horrifying creature as it splashed back into the lake.

Luxa didn't bother waiting for Aroura to land, and dropped to the ground from several feet. Aroura landed behind her as the queen slowly stood up, glaring at the soldiers. She immediately began yelling at them all. Ripred was right next to her. She began demanding a more effective way of monitoring the lake, and the soldiers shrank away from their queen's fury. Gregor ran over to Wynn and Howard, worried about both of them equally. They sat on the ground soaking wet and panting. Howard pushed his hair out of his eyes, and looked at Wynn.

"Are you alright, Overlander?" he asked in a concerned tone. He reached out to her…

Wynn smacked him behind the head and began scolding him in Japanese (Gregor realized that his cousin sounded exactly like her mother). Howard stared at her in disbelief.

"I just saved your life!" he yelled at her. Gregor tried to cut in, but his cousin didn't leave room.

"And you almost lost your own in the process!" she yelled back. "What were you thinking!?"

"You did say he was a life guard," Gregor said, but they ignored him entirely.

"Perhaps that we should not allow you to perish in the clutches of some creature!" Howard looked at her knee, and before Wynn could stop him he popped it back into place. Wynn bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut to avoid yelling in pain.

"Wynn," Gregor said. She looked over at him, still panting. "Are- Are you ok?" he asked. She nodded.

"I must stitch your arm," Howard said icily.

"Its fine," Wynn replied in the same tone.

"It is not fine!" he yelled, then calmed himself with some effort. "Stop arguing with me." She glared at him, but didn't say anything. Gregor went and got Howard's medical kit for him, and he began stitching up cuts on Wynn's arm. There were three deep slashes on her upper left arm.

Wynn noticed Gregor looking, "I think it was trying to make me call for help," she explained.

"I'm sorry," Gregor said. "I didn't know this would be dangerous. I wanted to help." Wynn shook her head.

"It's not your fault, and I knew better than to bring you or Nike into that mess." She smiled sadly at him. "And _you_ should have known better than to use your girl fri-" Gregor hit her arm to make her stop talking. He didn't need her to lecture him about using Luxa. He knew it was stupid, but she was the only one that could help him.

"Thank you for not doing that," Howard said.

"What?"

"Thank you," Howard said with some difficulty, "for not calling for help. For thinking of Nike first."

"Don't be silly," she said, and gently pushed his head back. Gregor noticed the gesture also pushed his wet hair out of his face. "And call me Wynn."

* * *

It took a while to get everyone calmed down again. Luxa demanded that by the time they returned from their mission, the soldiers have a better strategy for monitoring the lake. The soldiers looked thoroughly afraid of her, and swore they would. Wynn and Howard argued again, this time about medication. Wynn didn't want to act "loopy" from a pain killer. Gregor helped by suggesting they play rock, paper, scissors for it. After a brief explanation, Howard won, and Wynn took the medicine. The fliers and Ripred slept now, and the Underlanders sat around the fire with Gregor.

Gregor looked over his shoulder to make sure his cousin was ok; she was putting something away in her bag. When he turned back around, Howard asked a question.

"What does this 'baka' mean?"

"She called you an idiot," Gregor replied. There was no sense is sugar coating it. Howard nodded.

"I assumed as much."

"And is this one of the words that Overlanders have made up?" Luxa asked.

"No," Gregor said. "It's Japanese. Another language. Wynn's mom is from Japan, and she always uses Japanese when she loses her temper. I guess Wynn picked up her mom's habit."

"She scolded me for saving her life," Howard said in disbelief, more to himself than to anyone else. "Like a mother to her child…"

"Maybe she was just scolding you for putting your life in danger," Gregor suggested.

"I do not see how this makes a difference."

"Do not pout, cousin," Luxa said with a smirk. "Such a look does not become you."

"Yeah. You're a lot cuter when you smile," Wynn added blandly. She scuffed her feet as she limped over to the group, and Gregor thought she looked a little drunk. It must be the pain medication.

"You need not insult me further, Overlander," Howard said.

"Win. Nor. Uh," she corrected him slowly. "And usually that's considered a compliment." Gregor doubted she was trying to compliment him though. "But I guess if you don't want me to be nice to you…"

"No no," Gregor said quickly. "Be nice. Everyone be nice."

Gregor quickly changed the subject to the negotiation again, and the Underlanders went over their strategy another time. Luxa wanted to review their strategies over and over again until it was second nature. Wynn scooched next to Gregor, and talked as if the other two weren't there.

"What was Ares like?" she asked bluntly. They all fell silent.

"What?" Gregor couldn't believe she would ask like that. _Is the medicine making her act weird?_

"What was Ares like?" she repeated. "He was your bond right? Like best friend? You should talk about him."

"You know not what you speak of, Overlander," Luxa said clearly angry. She was also close to Ares, and probably didn't think Wynn should talk about him so casually. She ignored the queen.

"I mean, I have no idea what you liked about him. Or what made him so great."

"He was stubborn. And loyal. And strong." Gregor said slowly after he thought a moment. He was surprised that he wanted to talk about his bond. Wynn nodded. "And he didn't really like me at first. But we ended up being best friends. I miss him."

"You talked about him the most when you told me about the prophecies and junk," she said, and smiled. "It would be a shame if you never talked about him again. If you forgot about him." Wynn looked like she actually wanted to talk about Ares, like she actually wanted to hear what Gregor had to say about the Underland. No one ever seemed willing to do that for him before.

"I could never forget him. And I guess I have you to talk to now."

"Yes," she smiled bigger. "I am such a good listener," she giggled. Gregor appreciated what she did. Though he was slightly embarrassed that the mention of his bond's name made his eyes water, he was happy his cousin said something. She was the first person who knew about the Underland, and was willing to listen to him.

"Yeah, well maybe we can talk about this another time," he said. He meant it too.

"Sure thing, bud. When I'm not high." Wynn giggled again, and laid back. She started humming, and Gregor felt like things were almost normal.


	7. Chapter 7

7

Wynn woke up to the sound of people moving around her. She knew she should get up, but she kept her eyes closed so she could have just a few more moments before having to face the reality of still being underground. Also, she was in a lot of pain from the day before, and wasn't sure if she could move. All of her muscles were sore from flying with Nike, her knee ached, and her head was pounding.

"How are you feeling?" Wynn opened her eyes to see Gregor's smiling face over her. His thick brown hair was falling in his face, and she wanted to tell him he needed a haircut.

"My everything hurts," she groaned instead. Gregor laughed, and handed her a bottle of pain killer, which she took without objection. Her body hurt too much to complain about having to take medication.

"Howard said this won't make you 'the loopy,'" Gregor joked, quietly mocking the Underlanders' accent. Wynn laughed, making her abs ache. She punched him for making her hurt. No wonder the Underlanders were in such good shape, flying used every muscle in the body.

The soldiers seemed to rush to complete Luxa's orders, probably because they were still scared from the scolding they received before. For such a small girl, the queen was very intimidating. How did Grace put it? She's got attitude. Confident, talented, and pretty. No wonder Gregor liked her. Everyone worked quickly, and they were all ready to go in an hour. Luxa explained that due to the added supplies they would now ride in pairs to more effectively balance weight.

"I will ride wi-" she began, but Wynn cut her off.

"Can I go with Nike?" She asked raising her hand, then put it back down awkwardly. She wasn't sure why she raised her hand like that, but she did want to ride with Nike. Nike said she liked that idea. "If Howard is jealous, I guess he can be my partner for the day," Wynn added making sure to include a mean smile.

It wasn't that she wanted to ride with him. It was just that she felt bad for taking up so much of Gregor's attention. Wynn knew her cousin wanted to talk to Luxa, she caught him staring at the queen more than once. She even caught Luxa giving him a few furtive glances. Wynn didn't want to encourage them, but she did want to give them a chance to talk to each other. After all, she probably shouldn't blame Luxa for what happened to Gregor. She had been just a child too. And though she was still angry about the slap, Wynn was also grateful to the Underlanders for saving her life. Not that she would admit it.

"This arrangement will work," Luxa said quickly, which didn't surprise Wynn. "Gregor, you shall ride with Aurora and myself." Howard gave Luxa a stern look, but didn't argue. Gregor looked more than happy to ride with her, but the queen kept a serious face as usual. When they walked over to Aurora, Wynn caught Luxa giving Gregor a smile. She rolled her eyes.

Unfortunately, now Wynn had to ride with the guy who sedated her. She walked over to Nike, and Howard followed behind her.

"You will need help," he said. Wynn wanted to say no, but that would have been a lie. She already knew she looked terribly awkward getting on a flier, and now with her knee hurting… Well she could just imagine falling flat on her face. She looked over at Gregor, and saw him climb onto Aurora like it was the most natural thing in the world. He settled back to back with Luxa. Suddenly, Wynn felt hands on her waist, and gasped. Howard lifted her up onto Nike, then climbed up behind her.

"Some warning would have been nice, pal" she said through gritted teeth.

"My apologies, Overlander." Overlander. Overlander. What was with these people? She hated these manners. It just made Howard come across as arrogant. At least Luxa owned _her_ pride, instead of trying to hide it like him.

"Are you ready, Wynnora," Nike asked. She was the only one who Wynn actually liked, besides Vikus who was impossible to dislike (but she hardly talked to him). She had had fun with her the day before until that eel thing attacked.

"Yeah, I'm good." The fliers appeared to communicate with each other, then took off. Wynn kept her eye on Gregor. He was never the type of boy to make a move on a girl, but then again, she never saw him actually _like_ a girl before. He definitely liked Luxa, even if he didn't admit it, and Wynn would slap him if he tried anything with the queen. They were too young for that in her opinion, and age was the least of the problems.

"The last time Gregor was in the Underland," Nike said suddenly, "he had his little sister, Boots, with him. She was so young then, and so eager to laugh. We had our own little jokes with each other. I do love children." Wynn had to smile at that.

"She was pretty cute, but I was never good with kids. I don't think Maggie and I got along until she was four."

"Perhaps you simply need more practice with children."

"No. I just don't really like kids."

"How can you not like children?" Howard asked. He had kept quiet until then, and Wynn had been doing a good job at pretending he wasn't behind her.

"I don't know, I just don't. They're sticky and gross and cry a lot." Wynn noticed Gregor laughing with Luxa. They appeared to be talking about her and Howard. _Stop bonding over us._

"That is ridiculous. No one can dislike children."

"Well I can. They're little balls of annoying and should go away." She glanced behind her, and saw Howard looked slightly shocked from her statement.

"I hope you do not reproduce." Wynn raised her eyebrows.

"What a terrible thing to say to a woman," she said. His face immediately began to flush red. "I mean what if that were true? Imagine how that would make me feel. You're just awful." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but she turned back around, satisfied that he was feeling uncomfortably guilty.

He had turned bright red. Not just his face, but down his neck too. Gregor wasn't lying when he said they turned completely red. It was kind of cute, how easy it was to tell when the Underlanders were embarrassed. Actually, he was kind of cute. But he sedated her, and she was still angry about that. Wynn looked back over to Gregor, who was now joking with Luxa. He was actually successfully making her and Aurora laugh. Wynn sighed, and wished to trade partners again.

* * *

At first riding with Luxa was a little awkward. It had been three years after all, and Gregor wasn't sure what to talk about. It didn't take long, however, to strike up conversation. At first it was about their cousins' bickering, which Luxa found highly amusing, but then Gregor just switched to joking around with her. He noticed that she was trying to keep a formal and serious look at all times, but he just wanted to make her laugh. He was surprised that he actually could.

The fliers said they didn't need a rest, and so the company flew on until it was time to break for the day to make up for lost time. It took almost two hours for Ripred to catch up, and in that time everyone had to listen to the shiners complain about the long flight. Gregor thought Luxa was about the crack and attack Gleam, who was particularly whiny, but she controlled herself.

When Ripred did arrive, he got straight to business.

"We need to think of an exit plan," he said.

"Why is an exit plan necessary?" Luxa asked. "The spinners will direct us out of their territory when the negotiations are complete."

"And what happens when negotiations fail, Your Highness?"

"Then the honorable thing for the spinners to do is allow the queen to return to her people to prepare for a proper battle," Luxa said, though she didn't sound convinced. Gregor hadn't even considered the possibility of the negotiations failing. Suddenly this trip felt more dangerous.

"You know better than that," Ripred almost laughed. He was the only one who had been to this part of the spinner territory before on a council for the gnawers. He described three exits from the throne room; one would be the entrance they entered the throne room through, one would be directly opposite that, and one would be high up close to the ceiling.

"I suspect they will allow you two in along with the Underlanders," Ripred said gesturing toward Gregor and his cousin. "You will be a novelty to them. I will be invited to join as a representative of the gnawers. Nike, as princess, will be a representative for the fliers. The three other fliers and those bugs," he glared at the shiners, "will be left outside the throne room. That is, if the spinners do not eat them first." Lumis and Gleam buzzed away angrily.

Ripred split them into pairs, so that in the event of an emergency escape, the spinner forces would be divided. Nike and Ripred would take the high exit, as he was the only one who knew which high exit to take and they were the only two who could reach it. Luxa would take the most direct exit, which was the direction they came in. Gregor would go with her to protect her, leaving Howard and Wynn to take the last exit.

"Why am I be paired with the Overlander?" Howard asked. "I think it would be better that I protect my cousin." Gregor heard Wynn mumble her name in annoyance.

"Because I would rather have a rager prevent her from getting hurt, than have a doctor try to fix her up afterward," Ripred said impatiently. Howard glared at him, and was about to say something back when Luxa interrupted.

"Has the company forgotten that I am capable of protecting myself?" she asked.

"We'll see how long that confidence lasts when you are surrounded by spinners," Ripred spat. Gregor was torn between wanting to protect his cousin and wanting to stay with Luxa, but he was afraid that saying anything would cause Luxa to turn her anger to him. She didn't look to be in a good mood with Ripred taking the lead. Wynn spoke up.

"I think Ripred's plan is our best option. Luxa needs to leave through the safest, and most direct exit, and if you guys are telling the truth, then Gregor would be the best guard second to Ripred. Sorry you're stuck with me, pal," she said to Howard, "but I think Luxa and Gregor are a good team. Besides, this is only a back-up plan. We probably won't even use it."

"Well then that's settled," Gregor put in quickly before someone else had a complaint. "Now can we work out the smaller details?"

Ripred explained that Luxa and Gregor would fly as fast as they could back the way they came. Their cousins would exit to the supply room, and follow the river back to the route they were currently on. Ripred would lead Nike to safety himself.

"You will not fail," Howard said firmly. "If Nike does not return, I will hold you personally responsible."

"Calm down, boy," Ripred said. "Like Wynnie said, this is just a back-up plan."

* * *

The next day Gregor got to fly with Luxa again. She scolded him about taking Ripred's side so quickly, but didn't seem too upset about it. _Maybe she wanted me to be on her team. Not that it matters that much._ As they flew, Luxa leaned lightly against his back, which wasn't only comfortable but reminded him of when they were younger. He liked that they were able to remain friends so easily after so many years.

They flew on as usual for a few hours, when Gregor noticed the fliers' ears moving as if they heard something unusual.

"Something is approaching," Aurora told them.

"What is it?" Luxa asked, leaning forward.

"We know not."

They flew on for several more minutes, and Gregor knew the fliers were communicating with each other about whether or not there was a possible threat. Suddenly they grouped closer together in a defensive position. Luxa's hand went to the hilt of her sword, so Gregor followed suit. He scanned the area around them, but didn't find anything.

"Nike suspects it is a group of buzzers," Aurora said. "They are approaching from behind us at a rapid pace, and we expect them to attack."

Gregor wondered what buzzers were, but he heard something that sounded almost like bees echo through the tunnel. The tunnel was just wide enough for the fliers to fight well enough, but Gregor knew this wasn't the most ideal place to get attacked. He looked over to make sure his cousin was alright, and saw Howard giving her instructions. She held onto her bow, but half her arrows fell out as the two of them passed her quiver.

"Keep your eyes on Luxa," he told her, then dropped off Nike onto Apollo who was flying below them. Wynn's eyes widened as she watched him drop the several feet to the flier below. Gregor almost smiled when he saw her silently mouth, "Damn. They all do that?" He nodded, and tried to give her a reassuring smile.

Suddenly the buzzing grew louder, and creatures flew past Gregor sending gusts of wind through his hair. They looked sort of like giant wasps, with huge stingers, and were about five feet tall. Gregor drew is sword and dagger, and prepared to fight. Unfortunately it was difficult fighting with two people on one flier, and in only a minute, both Gregor and Luxa were thrown off Aurora.

Gregor landed on the ground with a thud, rolled to his back, and blocked three stingers. When he finally got a chance to stand, he was just fast enough to block another attack. He was completely relying on reflex and his rager instincts now. He knew just where to hit the abdomen to cause the most damage. Their wings were also highlighted by his rager senses, and Gregor sliced out with his sword to ground a few buzzers.

He looked around for Luxa. When he finally found her slashing back a buzzer, he saw another one diving straight for her from behind. His blood froze as he realized there was no way he could make it to her in time.

"Luxa!" Gregor called out, but the buzzing was too loud and she didn't hear. Suddenly an arrow whizzed by, and pierced the buzzer right in the eye. It crashed to the ground, and slid harmlessly to the queen. Still, Luxa was completely surrounded by the buzzers, while they practically ignored the others. Gregor ran over and began fighting closer to her again.

Howard was knocked to the ground, and was about to be stabbed by a stinger when once again an arrow flew in. For a brief moment, Gregor thought his cousin looked frightening firing arrows while on Nike, but it didn't last long. Her knee slipped, and she fell, tumbling into Howard, knocking his sword out of his hand. Gregor couldn't leave Luxa though, who was over whelmed with buzzers. He drew his dagger, and spun around. This didn't kill any of the buzzers, but it did clear them away and gave him and Luxa a moment to breath.

Howard instinctively covered Wynn, but she shoved him in the ribs with her knee and rolled over on him. She fired her last five arrows in rapid succession, and each one found its mark in a buzzer behind Luxa, again giving her a much needed break. Then she struck a buzzer that dove for her, which broke her bow.

Gregor focused on his own fighting again, trying not to be distracted by his cousin. He tried to suppress the feeling of fun he got while fighting, but whenever he did, his skills were also suppressed. He didn't have the luxury to let his guard down while defending Luxa, so he decided to just enjoy the fight if he had to.

Gregor saw legs, wings, and abdomens, and he struck out at all of them. He took out three more buzzers by removing their wings and slicing deep into their abdomens. The buzzers still outnumbered them, but many of them were also killed or badly wounded, so they began retreating. Nike and Persephone pursued them a short distance, eliminating some of the stragglers, but most of them got away.

Gregor finally had a chance to look around and take in his surroundings. The shiners had clung to a wall giving light to see by while still being in a safe area. This was a relatively large part of the tunnel, and one side opened to a river. Wynn was close to it.

"Are you two alright?" Wynn called. She looked horrified, and was still lying on the ground.

"Yeah," Gregor panted. He took note that her question included Luxa. _I guess she's worried about the queen now, too._ He was still seeing kill shots, but he had his rager instincts under control. Now he just took a few deep breaths to get over the sick feeling he had in his stomach from the fight.

"Good." Wynn let out something between a sigh of relief and a groan of pain. She collapsed flat onto the ground. "Put my knee back, Howard," she said.

Howard walked over to where she lay from where he had continued fighting after their fall, and popped her knee back in place. Then Persephone called him over to help Apollo, who had badly hurt his right wing and shoulder. Gregor looked at Luxa.

"Was that an assassination attempt?" he asked.

"It would appear so," Luxa said solemnly.

"And you thought they were honorable."

"I know better now."


	8. Chapter 8

8

Wynn couldn't stop shaking. She hated killing things. She didn't even like stepping on bugs. Yet she had not hesitated to shoot arrow after arrow into those enormous wasps when they went after Luxa. What choice did she have? It was either that, or let someone get hurt. Or die.

She tried to take deep breaths to calm herself, but her breathing came in sharp, short bursts. The Underlanders looked almost unaffected by what happened while they moved onto other tasks. Luxa looked concerned, but not scared. Her face showed a focus, as if she were already trying to figure out what the attack meant. Howard had already moved on to stitching everyone up. The fliers huddled together to keep Apollo comfortable. Even more surprising, Gregor looked just like them. He looked alert, but not scared. He had handled the attack like a soldier, not like Wynn's 15 year old cousin. The realization scared her.

"Come help me." Wynn was pulled from her thoughts by Howard's voice.

"What?"

"Come assist me," he said firmly. She looked to see why Gregor and Luxa weren't helping him, and saw Gregor carefully wrapping up the queen's wrist. Wynn got the feet, and limped over to Howard. He instructed her to clean blood from Apollo's wound so he could stitch it properly. She refused to let her hands shake.

"Were you injured in the fight?" Howard asked, keeping his eyes on Apollo's wound.

"No." Her voice came out as a whisper. He nodded. She needed a distraction from all the blood, so she started humming any song that came to mind.

"Perhaps you would enjoy talking about something to relieve your mind from the worries of fighting." She never noticed how gentle his voice was. Then again, that seemed appropriate for a doctor. _Or life guard. Whatever._

"Yeah, that would be nice." Wynn started to ask him any question she could think of about Underland medicine. Where do they get their medicine? Did they have anti-biotics yet? Blood transfusions? How much training did one need before being considered a doctor. He answered all her questions without ever fumbling with Apollo's stitches.

At some point Gregor left with Luxa to find Ripred. Wynn wanted to stop them, but figured they knew better than her. She would just to have to trust that her cousin knew what he was doing. But what teenagers ever knew what they were doing?

When he finished with Apollo, Howard helped the others then left the fliers to huddle by themselves. Wynn followed him back over to where they had stacked the supplies from Apollo and Aurora, and watched as he began cleaning his own injury. He had a cut on his head that had bled down the side of his face.

"Here," Wynn said. "I can do that." Surprisingly, he didn't object. It wasn't very serious, so she was pretty sure she could handle it. The problem was, she felt awkward being that close to him without talking. "W-were those wasps… intelligent?" she asked.

"Buzzers," Howard corrected. "And that depends on your definition of intelligent." He winced in pain. "They do little more than what their queen commands, and their queen usually commands them to do any task she is paid for. Those buzzers were most likely hired to assassinate Luxa."

"So they can think?" Howard looked at her in surprise.

"Yes. What is wrong?" _Everything._

"You're ok with killing intelligent… creatures? Gregor and Luxa are too?"

"They would have killed us. That was their purpose." Howard shook his head, causing Wynn to put her hands down for a moment. "I was defending myself and my family." Wynn looked down at her hands, feeling like a child. They all accepted these realities like old veterans, but it all made Wynn sick to her stomach.

"And how old were you the first time you…." She trailed off, unable to finish. Howard thought a moment.

"Sixteen," he finally answered.

"And Gregor and Luxa were what? Twelve? Eleven?" She glared at the Underlander. He looked surprised by the anger her tone took on. "They started killing things when they were just kids. They still are kids. You don't see anything wrong with this?"

"If we do not defend ourselves, we would lose our family and our home."

"This isn't Gregor's home. _You're_ not his family. So why is he killing for you?" Howard had no answer, so Wynn finished cleaning the gash on his forehead. After a minute he finally spoke again.

"Perhaps there is more to this than you currently understand."

"Yeah, so I'm told."

* * *

Luxa wanted to leave to find Ripred right away. She knew the gnawer was a capable rager, but a group of buzzers could have attacked him and left him for dead. She looked down at her wrist, and saw it was already starting to swell. She had fallen on it when she fell off Aurora, and only made it worse when she continued to fight despite the injury. Now she tried to flex her hand with little success, but she did not think it was broken. She would have to ignore it for now.

"We must find Ripred," Luxa said, and began walking toward Aurora.

"Wait," Gregor called to her, and grabbed her shoulder to turn her around. "I saw you hurt your wrist. Have Howard take a look at it."

"We do not have time for such things. He must first look after Apollo, and we must find Ripred now."

"Then at least let me wrap it," he insisted. Luxa reluctantly agreed.

"But do so quickly," she said firmly. Gregor grabbed some cloth to wrap Luxa's wrist with, and they sat down together. He took her hand gently, and began looping the cloth around it. He did a good job, making it tight enough to provide support and slightly immobilize the wrist, but it was not uncomfortable. Luxa doubted she could hold a sword, but she could use her hand a little now.

"Will you come with us?" she asked Gregor. He went to take supplies off Aurora so she could fly faster. Luxa did not want to admit it, but she thought she may need him for both her own and Aroura's protection. Gregor's smile told her that he already knew that, but he was smart enough not to say anything.

"Of course I'm going with you," was all he said. They climbed onto Aurora, each with a flashlight, and the flier took off back down the tunnel. Luxa felt no need to dwell on the buzzer attack. She knew the spinners must have hired them to assassinate her. As she was the queen, she expected no less from her enemy. _Regalians would never stoop to hiring mercenaries,_ Luxa thought with satisfaction.

"How far away do you think he is?" Gregor asked. Luxa could see the concern on his face. He had a funny way of moving his head now. Most people would not have noticed it, but Luxa could tell he was using his echolocation and turning his head to better position his ears, not his eyes.

"If Ripred was traveling at his normal pace, we should have passed him some time ago. However, we did not see him, and I know Aurora would not have missed him. I do not know where he is." They flew on for another thirty minutes before coming to an abrupt halt.

"Stand down you three," Ripred said, stepping out of the darkness. "I found some friends."

Aurora landed on the floor of the tunnel while Gregor and Luxa just stared ahead. Ripred stood casually in front of a group of spinners. Luxa scanned over them and estimated 30 large, soldier spinners. She felt her hand resting instinctively on the hilt of her sword, and was pleased when she saw Gregor was doing the same. It seemed he had not forgotten how to prepare for a fight.

"Explain yourself, Ripred," Luxa said, her voice steady even facing a group of huge spinners. She refused to show any fear in front of her enemy.

"Well I was walking along, minding my own business, when out of nowhere this group ambushes me," he explained casually. "I was not having any of that, and after they learned what a rager could do, I guess they weren't either. Of course they calmed down after I explained that I was here with the Regalian Queen to negotiate peace, so they so kindly offered to escort us the rest of the way."

Luxa did not move. She could not stop thinking about the assassination attempt. They had tried to kill her, and now she was supposed to just follow them to their queen? She felt her hand tighten painfully on her sword. Her body tensed, ready to yell at them, and perhaps attack them if she felt like it, when Gregor cut in.

"That was really nice of you guys to offer that," he said to the spinners. Luxa whipped her head around to stare at him. How dare he speak before her? He did not bother looking at her, and continued addressing the spinners. "You would not believe the trouble we ran into. We could use all the help we could get."

"The gnawer gives too much credit to our kindness," a large spinner said. Judging by her size and position amongst the other spinners, Luxa determined she was the leader.

"Don't be so humble," Gregor replied with a smile that only betrayed his nervousness a little. "We appreciate any offer of assistance." The spinner seemed to ignore this.

"We shall escort you to our queen to ensure you do not cause trouble in our land, humans. Disarm yourselves before mounting the flier again." She spoke directly to Luxa now. _That is better._ Luxa took satisfaction in having the spinner's attention now, but she did not appreciate being told to put away her weapons.

"We will do no such thing," the queen said. She raised her chin, and made sure not to take her eyes off the spinner. She knew better than to appear intimidated.

"Then we will be forced to kill you here," the spinner replied simply. Luxa thought for a moment. She was hurt, but she did have Aurora and two ragers with her. They could defend themselves and escape the spinners. Some of the spinners would surely be killed though, and that would not look good right before a negotiation of peace. Luxa wished she could attack, in the past she may have, but she knew better now. She took off the belt holding her sword and dagger, and nodded for Gregor to do the same.

"It's a good thing you're making us take our swords off," Gregor said, again using the casual tone Luxa knew to mean he was about to say something sarcastic. "It's not like we have any other way to protect ourselves, right Ripred?" Ripred laughed loudly, revealing his sharp teeth. Luxa smiled at seeing several of the spinners shake and move away from Ripred. He must have really demonstrated what a rager could do earlier.

Luxa and Gregor climbed back onto Aurora, their weapons in a satchel and out of reach, and they flew back the way they came. The spinners kept close behind, climbing along the tunnel floor and walls, no doubt making sure the humans did not make any wrong moves. They soon arrived back where they left the rest of the group. Upon seeing the spinners, the fliers took an aggressive position, and Howard drew his sword.

"Stay you, cousin," Luxa called out to him. "These spinners are to escort us the remainder of the journey." Howard did not move.

"Have they hurt you, Luxa?" he asked.

"No. Now disarm yourself, and prepare to leave at once," she said firmly. She appreciated his bravery, but now was not the time.

Her cousin reluctantly did as he was told. They were given no time to collect the supplies they had taken off Aurora or Apollo because the spinners rushed them. Howard helped Wynnora onto Nike, and within minutes they were all off again. The fliers had to slow down their pace to stay with both the spinners and Ripred who ran along the tunnel.

The remainder of the journey was spent in silence. The spinners allowed for one break, but only the exhausted fliers could sleep. Luxa could not rest. Her mind was racing, going over all the strategies she had prepared for the negotiation. She could not fail.

It took another half day of exhaustingly slow travel to reach the spinner queen. Upon reaching the spinner home nest, Luxa half expected the queen to keep her waiting. It would certainly not be as bad as the hired buzzer assassins they sent after her. The spinner queen, however, called for them to enter the throne room immediately. Just as Ripred had predicted, he, the humans, and Nike were all invited into the throne room. Luxa took a deep breath, raised her chin, and reminded herself to speak loud, clear, and, most importantly, without fear.


	9. Chapter 9

**My updating has been pretty crappy lately, so I'll try to post chapters more frequently. Thanks to those reading and reviewing. There are going to be quite a few shifts in point of view coming up, so hopefully you like it.**

* * *

9

The throne room was a conical cave with an incredibly high ceiling. Gregor looked at the walls and saw that spinners crawled all over them. He then checked for the exits. The two on the bottom were easy to find, but the third was harder. There were numerous exits above them, and all of them were impossible to reach by a human. Only Ripred knew which exit to use.

There wasn't actually a throne in the throne room. Instead there was an enormous web strung several yards up. On the web sat the queen of the spinners, and she was both beautiful and frightening. She was far larger than all the other spinners, and stared at them in perfect stillness.

"Greetings, Queen Luxa of Regalia," she said in her strange voice.

"Greetings, Queen Tonex," Luxa replied regally. "With me representing the gnawers is my bond Ripred. To represent the fliers is Nike, daughter of Queen Athena. My cousin, Howard son of the leaders of the Fount, is here to represent the humans there." She didn't bother to introduce the Overlanders, and Gregor didn't mind. He really did not want to waste Tonex's time. Luxa continued, "I have come here-"

"I know why you have journeyed here," Tonex interrupted. "You wish to make peace." Her voice was eerily calm. "Tell me, human queen, why should I be interested in peace, when my army is currently stronger?" Gregor looked around and wondered how outnumbered the humans were. He knew his voice would have shaken if he had had to speak to the queen, but Luxa appeared completely prepared for this. Her voice was strong and clear as she addressed the spinner queen.

"It matters not who has the stronger army. Lives will be lost on both sides if this war is allowed to continue. I offer a chance to end this conflict civilly, so that both our people shall benefit." Gregor was impressed with how well Luxa was able to handle the situation.

"You have intrigued me, human queen. Tell me what you offer."

With that, the negotiations started. Both sides started with demands, but it wasn't long before the Regalians gave in and made some offers. It was clear that they wanted to make this peace treaty work. Luxa handled the discussions of land and territory with perfect diplomacy, while Howard stepped in with trading options. Nike and Ripred both made it clear where the loyalty of the fliers and gnawers lay, though Gregor was pretty sure saying the gnawers would help the humans was a huge bluff.

Gregor looked at his cousin, and saw that though she shook slightly in fear, her attention was given completely to the negotiations. He wanted to reassure her that everything was ok, but thought that any gesture of kindness may be interpreted as weakness on their part. He knew he couldn't risk ruining the Regalians' chances for peace. This had to work if he was going to get home any time soon.

Gregor couldn't tell what Tonex was thinking. Her face was unreadable, and her tone was perfectly even. Judging by what she demanded and offered, Gregor thought the Underlanders weren't even getting close to peace. Though Luxa kept her face composed, Gregor heard an edge slip into the tone of her voice. She was losing her patience with the spinners. It didn't help matters that Ripred was now being openly rude with the spinner queen, and Howard had to keep calming him down. Still, Tonex refused to give up the land she had seized in battle, and demanded trade be kept open with humans. This was too much for Luxa.

"You wish to keep the land you have stolen from Regalia because you do not trust humans," she finally snapped, barely able to control her temper. "You wish to hold onto it so that you will always have something to bargain with. This is unacceptable. I cannot make peace with those who do not trust me."

"Trust you?" Tonex asked. "Why should the spinners trust you? _Humans_. Why should any Underland creature trust you? We have seen what you are. Selfish. You drive creatures from their home, and take their land. You claim to suffer cruelty from the gnawers, yet you unleash the worst evils upon them. You speak of fair trade, yet you cast your partners to the side without a thought." Tonex's voice remained even and she didn't move, yet Gregor knew she was angry. And dangerous. The spinners on the walls had stopped moving, and were watching them now.

"Why should we trust you killers?" the spinner queen asked. Gregor saw Luxa's jaw tighten when the queen called them killers. "We have no guarantee that you will keep any of your promises, and if we are to learn from the past, then I would be fool to not expect you to break them. No war with the killers can be ended with diplomacy. Only violence."

Howard grabbed Gregor's arm roughly and shoved him next to Luxa. He took his place next to Wynn. _He thinks we're going to have to run for it._ Gregor could feel his heart pound against his chest. Ripred must have thought the same, because he was crouched low ready to run. None of this was going as planned.

"I have the Regalian queen before me. I cannot let you go," Tonex said. "Your death will mean a weak leader for Regalia, and victory for the spinners." Gregor's body tensed, and his rager instincts cut into his vision. "You are now our prisoners."

"You cannot do this!" Luxa cried, but it was useless. Spinners were already lining up to take them. Luxa reflexively reached for her sword, but it wasn't there. Gregor thought she looked like she wanted to fight the spinners with her bare hands at this point. Then again, the alternative, running, seemed just as deadly. Gregor, now that he stood with no weapon in front of an army of spinners, couldn't imagine trying to escape.

"You two count to 5, then run," Ripred said to Howard and Wynn. "You two count to 10, then run," he said to Gregor and Luxa. Then he immediately sprang forward with Nike. Gregor was glad to have someone else think for him.

1…2…3…

Gregor watched Nike was taken down by two large spinners. She crashed to the ground, and more spinners rushed forward to help restrain her with their silk. Howard didn't hesitate, he just rushed for Nike. Instead of trying to stop him, Luxa smiled triumphantly that she didn't have to run. Despite being scared out of his mind, Gregor groaned in annoyance as he realized their escape plan was shot. Luxa crouched down to run after her cousin when several spinners dropped in on them from above without warning. Gregor, Luxa, and Wynn were immediately pinned down.

The soldier spinners were huge. There was no way they could fight them without weapons. Within seconds of being crushed under the weight of a spinner that pinned him to the ground, Gregor's hands were bound behind his back.

"This is really unnecessary, guys!" Gregor yelled. The spinner had his face pressed into the ground. "I'll go with you no problem. You don't have to-"

"Unhand me, cowards!" Luxa screamed. Gregor struggled to turn his head to the other side, scratching his cheek as he did. "You worthless bugs! Humans would never stoop to such levels of cowardice! To attack a peace mission!" Luxa struggled against the spinner that pinned her to the ground, causing her crown to slip off. She seemed to be trying to get something from her boot, and Gregor really hoped she wouldn't whip out some hidden knife.

Once Gregor, Luxa, and Wynn were restrained, the spinners lifted them back to their feet. Gregor saw that Nike was already being taken away, while Howard struggled against his restraints to get to her. Ripred was outnumbered, and now the spinners were forcing him out of the throne room too.

"If you hurt my bond, nothing will protect you from me!" Luxa screamed. Her voice was starting to go hoarse.

"Luxa, shut up," Wynn hissed at her, while they all started walking out of the throne room.

"Just go with it, you're making things worse," Gregor added. She really was. Her temper was getting out of hand.

"They have not seen worse yet," she growled. As they walked through the far exit, Gregor was preparing himself to be thrown in a cell with the others. Instead, Luxa was taken to the left with her cousin, while Gregor was taken to the right with Wynn and Ripred.

"Hey wait!" he yelled at the three spinners escorting him. "We're supposed to go with them." He struggled to look behind him to get a last look at Luxa.

"Quiet, Gregor," the queen called to him sarcastically. "You will make things worse."

Gregor watched as she disappeared into the darkness of the dimly lit tunnel. He was led in the opposite direction. When they reached a cell, which was just a hole in the ground, the spinners lowered him, Wynn, and Ripred down. _At least they left us a little torchlight._ The hole wasn't very big, but Gregor didn't think he could climb out.

"A little help?" he asked Ripred, turning his back. The gnawer bit the bindings retraining his hands, then did the same for Wynn. She had somehow picked up Luxa's crown, and was holding it behind her back the whole time. Now she looped it through her belt while they all tried to catch their breath and get their bearings.

"So what now?" Gregor asked, searching for any clue as to what they could do.

"I guess we think of a way to go save your girlfriend," Wynn answered. Ripred groaned.

"You humans are more trouble than you're worth."

* * *

Howard sat in the bottom of the deep hold while Luxa paced back and forth. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to get a hold of himself. Luxa was not making this easy with her constant talking.

"They will not even tell us where the others are being held," she spat. "This is no way to treat royalty. Not only am I the Queen of Regalia, but Nike is princess to the fliers. If they plan to sell us for ransom, then they are fools. I shall only return to destr-"

"Luxa," Howard stopped her. She looked down at him sharply. "You are not helping yourself by complaining." This was no way to behave. She knew better than to show weakness like this. Howard understood that this was especially stressful to her since she did not have Aurora with her, but that was no excuse. He did not have Nike, and he was not behaving like a child.

Luxa nodded, and started pacing again, silently this time. They needed to think of a way of escaping, but that seemed impossible. They could not climb out of the cell, and there were no tunnels leading out of the hole. Even if they were able to get out of the hole, there was no way they could fight off the guards with no weapons. They were stuck in what was most likely the most secure cell the spinners had.

"We cannot escape, Luxa," Howard said quietly.

"You give up so easily, cousin."

"I am being realistic. As you should be." Luxa looked at him again, some of the defiance leaving her eyes. "Now what do you think they shall do." Howard had a few thoughts, but he wanted to know what Luxa was thinking.

"I think they will hold you for ransom, and kill me." Howard nodded. That was exactly what he imagined. Selling prisoners, especially such valuable prisoners, could be greatly beneficial to the spinners, but Luxa was far more useful dead. "Nike will be sold. Aurora they will try to sell, but my council may leave her upon hearing of my death," she explained calmly.

"Exactly," Howard said gently. "The Overlanders they may also try to sell, but I think Vikus will only be able to save Gregor at best. Everyone else…"

"So we are almost all facing death either now or later." Howard nodded. "So if you think the situation so grim, what do you suggest we do?"

"We convince the spinners that we are more useful alive, or we hope the others have more luck in escaping." He stood up, and tried to see if he could spot the guards. They were not in sight, but he knew they were there. Luxa looked at him sadly, so he opened his arms to her. She hugged him tightly, before quickly letting go with a deep breath. Howard knew that was all she needed. Luxa was ready to think of a plan now.

"I am not one for waiting on others to rescue me," Luxa said.

"Nor am I, cousin." She nodded.

"Then I suggest we start thinking of a way to convince them not to kill me." She gave a rueful laugh. "Or at least we show them that we are not weaklings right before our deaths."

* * *

"This was a stupid idea," Wynn complained from somewhere in the dark behind him. Gregor fought the urge to kick her in the face. At least _she_ wasn't looking up the wrong end of a gnawer.

"Girl, if you do not be quiet, I am going to rip your tongue out the second we are out of this tunnel," Ripred growled. She stopping talking.

After a few minutes of being in the cell, Gregor spotted a small tunnel, just a few feet up. And small meant that Ripred could just barely squeeze through it. Ripred said the tunnels were used for smaller spinners to travel the area quickly. Gregor knew immediately that he was going to try to escape through it. He knew they could run into spinners along the way and they had no weapons, but what choice did they have? It took almost an hour to convince Wynn and Ripred (luckily the spinners didn't bother leaving competent guards to watch them since they were less valuable prisoners in a hole in the middle of enemy territory), but they finally agreed to use the tunnel to escape.

Ripred went first to try to use his sense of smell to direct them to Luxa, and to kill any spinner they might come across. The gnawer didn't have the clearest scent of them, but it was just enough to guide them through the small tunnels. Gregor went after him, which gave him the unpleasant position of being right behind a gnawer's backside.

Gregor had to lay on his stomach and wiggle through the tunnel in total darkness. That wasn't so bad for him since he could "see" just fine with his echolocation, but the tight squeeze and darkness was torture for his cousin. It almost felt like being buried alive, but Gregor had to just get through it if he wanted to get to the others.

Ripred lead them through the twists and turns relying on the faint smell he picked up from the Underlanders. Their plan was to find the humans, then find the fliers. After what felt like an eternity shimming on his stomach through the tight tunnel, they finally came to the end. Gregor tumbled out head first into a corridor. His cousin followed right behind him, and fell on top of him. The area was just barely lit with torch light (he could see maybe a few inches in fornt of him), which was welcomed after the total darkness of the cramped tunnel they were just in.

"Get up," Ripred hissed. Wynn stood, and offered a hand to help up Gregor. "More than just spinners travel through here, so we have move." Gregor wondered what that meant, but decided not to ask. He wanted to make as little noise as possible.

They slowly started down the empty tunnel. Gregor cringed as he scuffed over the rocks and dirt beneath his feet. It all felt too loud in the otherwise silent tunnel. Twice Ripred stopped them, and they ducked behind boulders and held their breath as spinners moved past them. Moving was slow, so it took them a half hour to travel a short distance to a small circular cave.

"We wait here," Ripred said, and he made himself comfortable in front of one of the six tunnels that left the cave.

"What?" Gregor looked around. There was nothing here. "Why? We have to find Luxa." He looked to his cousin for help, but she just looked like she desperately wanted to turn on her tiny flash light.

"Huh?" she asked, her hands holding on tightly to her light.

"Just a few minutes, and you'll see," Ripred growled. "Now quiet down." Gregor almost started to argue back, then stopped himself. If Ripred said they should wait here, then they should wait here. He started to pace back and forth anxiously, but a scowl from Ripred made him stop. He was making too much noise. Gregor forced himself to stand still and wait, his anxiety increasing with every passing moment.

It wasn't five minutes before Gregor heard something approaching the cave. He glanced at Ripred to see how he was reacting to this, but he just sat calmly and waited. _There's no reason to get worked up._

"There's something coming," Wynn whispered.

"You don't say," Ripred replied as if amazed by her statement. She looked to Gregor nervously, then quieted down. Gregor stared into the dark tunnel, and finally picked up the shapes with his echolocation. _Gnawers._ In less than a minute, a group of seven gnawers stood in front of them. They conversed with each other briefly in their own language before switching to English.

"If that one is the Warrior," a grey, female gnawer began, "then who is the other one?"

"The boy's cousin," Ripred replied as he stood up. "She's not important."

"What are you doing in spinner territory?" Gregor asked. He didn't mean to interrupt, but this was a bit confusing. The grey gnawer looked at him.

"The spinners allow us to use their tunnels to travel. Such relationships can form when there is no fighting. I wouldn't expect a human to know anything about that though."

"We don't have time for this, Clipwing," Ripred cut in. "Queen Luxa and her cousin are being held by the spinners. Four fliers too."

"And two shiners," Gregor added. The gnawers must have said a joke to each other in their own language, because several laughed.

"Yes, I suppose those too," Ripred sighed. "Anyway, as you can see, I'm not left much to work with. She's useless, and he has no weapon. So-"

"So you want our assistance," Clipwing finished. Ripred seemed to shrug. Gregor watched the gnawers expectantly, but was immediately disappointed. "No."

"Why not?" Gregor asked.

"Well for one thing we don't like humans," a dark grey, male gnawer said. Several others chuckled.

"We are not willing to harm the neutrality we have in regards to the current situation," Clipwing corrected. Ripred went back to talking to them in the gnawer tongue. Wynn stepped up beside Gregor, and looked at him with a look of defeat. Well he wasn't ready to give up yet.

"Isn't there anything we can give you to change your mind? Anything we can do for you?" Gregor pleaded. Clipwing turned her attention back to him again.

"I highly doubt t-" She was cut off sharply when one of the other gnawers tapped her and nodded toward Wynn. They spoke amongst themselves in hushed tones, then she turned back toward them. "We have a deal to offer."

"Anything," Gregor said. Ripred rolled his eyes.

"Let's hear it first before we agree to anything, shall we?"

"We want the crown," Clipwing began. _The crown._ Gregor looked over at his cousin, and just remembered that she had Luxa's crown strapped to her belt.

"What? Why?" Wynn asked.

"It doesn't matter," Gregor said. "Give them the crown." Anything they wanted, so long as they helped.

"That's not all," Clipwing continued. "I'll send four of my soldiers with you, but we keep the girl." Gregor stared at them in shock.

"We're not looking to sell anyone here," Ripred said.

"We don't plan on keeping her. We hold her until you return with your queen. If anything happens to one of my soldiers, then I'll do the same to her." Wynn swallowed nervously.

"Look, there's no reason to go threatening-" Gregor protested.

"I'm not threatening anyone."

"Just give her the girl," Ripred sighed, clearly done with the conversation.

"No," Gregor snapped. "We can give them the crown, but Wynn isn't going to be collateral."

"I'll do it," Wynn said.

"There. Done," Ripred finished. Gregor looked at his cousin in confusion. If one of the gnawers died, Clipwing would kill her. She had to understand that. Gregor didn't want to risk her life. Wynn smiled at him.

"It's alright, Gregor," she said. "I owe them this." She tossed the crown over to the gnawers, who caught it and immediately began joking. "Just come back with everyone in one piece, ok." Gregor nodded, and smiled weakly.

"Ok." It was settled. Clipwing chose four gnawers to go with them to save Luxa and Howard. Gregor gave his cousin one last look before moving down one of the tunnels. It wasn't long before they caught onto the Underlanders' scent, and hurried to rescue them.


	10. Chapter 10

10

Luxa paced back and forth in their prison hole, losing more and more patience with each passing minute. They had decided on a strategy over an hour ago, and now all that was left to do was wait. Truly, it was insulting to wait so long to be executed. Prisoner or not, Luxa was a queen, and expected better treatment.

"What is keeping them?" Luxa demanded. Howard looked at her lazily, but did not say anything. "Tonex was clearly intent on executing me, so why make me wait?"

"Perhaps she was advised not to have you killed. Or perhaps she was advised not to have you killed _yet_. The spinners may want information from us before that." Luxa stopped pacing, and looked up to the top of the hole several yards above them. She could hear the spinners walking about up there, and it took everything in her not to yell at them to show her some respect. "Luxa, calm down," Howard continued. "When they come for us, we sh-"

Howard was cut off by the sound of more spinners from above. He stood up, and Luxa moved to stand next to him near the wall. A large spinner looked over the edge, then began lowering herself down in the hole. Luxa nodded to her cousin, who bent into position. She quickly grabbed the small dagger she always had in her boot, then backed up, and with a running start, she used Howard's help to give her a boost up. She leapt off his hands, and nimbly landed on the lowering spinner. Before the spinner was able to react, Luxa cut the thread and put her boot on the spinner's head, so that the force of the landing helped her crack its skull. Luxa stepped off the twitching spinner body, and looked to her cousin.

"We will not be able to continue this," Howard said. It was true. Their strategy took too much work to be continually repeated, and only worked if the spinners came down one at a time. Once they came down in greater numbers, there would be no fighting them. Not to mention, Luxa's wrist was already in a good deal of pain again. She put her knife back in her boot.

"Yes, I know. But that is not the point. We fight them as long as possible. The spinners will learn we humans do not give in so easily. We can at least send that message for Regalia." Howard nodded, and stared curiously up at the top of the hole.

"I expected them to send more soldiers down immediately." Luxa looked up with him. The wait was odd. Suddenly there were the loud noises of fighting and… "Is that growling?" Howard asked.

"Gnawers?"

"That's right, You Highness." Ripred looked down over the edge of the hole, and smiled down at them smugly. "Just as soon as we finish up here, we'll finish rescuing you." Luxa was speechless.

"I found some of the spinner silk," Gregor said, looking over the edge too. He started lowering the rope down. "Come on, Ripred. We need to hurry." As soon as the rope was within reach, Luxa grabbed it with her good hand, and Gregor started to pull her up. When she reached the top, she looked around and saw the torch lit cave and saw four gnawers, beside Ripred, sitting over the bodies of spinners. "Are you guys ok?" Gregor asked, touching her shoulder.

"Yes," Luxa replied. She shook her head, and focused on the problem at hand instead of being rescued by gnawers (something they probably would not soon forget). "Now we must find Aurora and the other fliers."

"We only agreed to help with the queen," a dark grey gnawer growled.

"Fine. That's fine," Gregor said quickly.

"It is not fine," Luxa snapped. Gregor ignored her.

"Let's get back to the others, then we split ways."

"You heard the boy, move out," Ripred ordered. Luxa pulled away from Gregor surprise. How could he just abandon Aurora and the others? She just wanted to get to her bond, and he was going to run away? Gregor pulled her to her feet, and began dragging her down the tunnel.

"No!" Luxa pulled her hand from Gregor's. "We must fin-"

"Go, Luxa," Howard said firmly. "We cannot do anything without a plan, and your protests will only draw attention to us. We will not leave the fliers, but we must go with them first." Luxa fought to calm down. She knew he was right, but she it felt as though she was leaving her bond.

"Luxa, it's ok," Gregor assured her. "Trust me." He looked into her eyes, and gave her hand a squeeze before rushing down the tunnel again. Luxa pulled her hand away again, but this time it was just so she could run faster. The hurried ran down the tunnels, passing the dead, and occasionally still twitching, dead bodies of spinners along the way. It would not take long for the other spinners to notice these ones were missing, and investigate. They did not have much time.

Finally they came to a sort of intersection, with six tunnels leading into one cave. Another group of three gnawers sat waiting. Wynn was leaning on one. When she saw them enter, she leapt up, and rushed to make sure Gregor was safe. The gnawers grouped together to discuss what happened in their own language, while the humans tried to catch their breath. Luxa prided herself in her physical fitness, but she was absolutely exhausted at this point.

"It would seem," a grey gnawer began, "that you returned all my soldiers to me unharmed. A shame, but a deal is a deal. You may have the girl back."

"Oh you are too kind," Wynn said sarcastically. Luxa exchanged a look with her cousin, who shrugged. They would ask about that later. For now Luxa wanted to know why the gnawer was wearing her crown around her ear.

"Leave it, Luxa," Gregor groaned. "It's just a hunk of metal." The gnawers laughed, played with the crown.

"They ins-" Luxa began.

"We must find the fliers," Howard reminded her.

"Yes, so you all can leave now," Ripred told the gnawers. "Shoo." They laughed again, and turned and left, tossing the crown amongst themselves. Luxa felt her chest burn in anger at the treatment of the Regalian antique, but she had to ignore it at the moment.

"So what now?" Gregor asked.

"We stick to the plan," Ripred said.

* * *

Gregor and Luxa snuck along the corridors with Ripred leading the way (their cousins had been sent to the storage room as planned). They were making their way back to the entrance of the spinner compound, which was the only place large enough to guard four fliers and two shiners. Luxa looked behind her, and nodded, which was Gregor's signal to get ready to run.

They only went over a plan (if you could call it that) briefly, so he wasn't too sure of himself. It would be his job to get Luxa safely to the fliers, free them, then escape. Meanwhile Ripred would try to distract the other spinners, and hopefully leave with Nike. _This is never going to work._

Ripred darted out of the tunnel without a sound, and Gregor and Luxa followed, running as fast as the, running as fast as they could. Now he could see the fliers and shiners, who luckily were giving off light, and Ripred at the opposite side of the room fighting.

"Run Gregor!" Luxa ordered. He didn't realize he had slowed down. He ran straight for the fliers, grabbing Luxa's good hand to drag her along behind him. Most of the spinners were distracted by Ripred, but there were still several guarding the fliers. Gregor's rager instincts cut into his vison, and he found they were useful in dodging attacks. He weaved his way through legs and stingers, and Luxa followed with perfect grace. She was far more nimble than him, and he made the snap decision that she should get the fliers.

"Get any weapon you can and let's go," he said, nodding toward Aurora, who was fighting against her restraints to cause as much damage as she could to the spinners around her.

Luxa was already on it, doing a series of flips to avoid the spinner legs. At this point, Gregor was just narrowly dodging the attacks by stumbling (there was only so much he could do with his unstrained rager senses). They both made it with difficulty, the few yards to where the fliers and shiners were held. Gregor knew that if Ripred had not been there as a distraction, they all would have died. The only reason he made it this far was because over half the spinners were preoccupied with the gnawer. And luck. _I am getting so lucky right now._ He avoided a spinner leg by pure chance that he tripped.

Luxa went right for her bond, and grabbed Gregor's sword, which was on Aurora, just in time to strike down a spinner. She yelled in pain, and Gregor saw that she could barely hold the weapon with her hurt wrist.

"Gregor, catch!" she called, and threw him his sword. _Now I got this._ He smiled as he caught the sword and swung it around. He let his rager senses take over, knowing Luxa could take care of cutting the others free, and hacked and spun through the spinners. He wasn't fully aware of anything other than legs and felt himself get cut a few times, but didn't care. He just had to fight them.

A neck. Gregor spun around to slice it. _Wait, I'm not supposed to hit necks._ He stopped himself just before hitting Luxa.

"Pay attention, Overlander," Luxa said angrily. He had somehow cleared the area of spinners momentarily. The bodies of those he had killed lay all around them on the tunnel floor. He used the second to wipe the spider goo from his hands onto his pants. It didn't help much. He and Luxa were both covered in the stuff.

"We must flee." Luxa dragged him onto Aurora, and they took off. Nike had already gone to help Ripred escape. Apollo stayed close beside them, the shiners were close behind, and Persephone brought up the rear. More spinners were pouring through the door, and climbing along to walls to catch up.

Gregor struck out with his sword, and cut down each spinner that dove for Luxa, who tried to use her left hand to defend herself. He then jumped onto Apollo, and the flier helped him get a better angle to attack the spinners.

Then Gregor heard a screech. He turned around and saw two spinners on Persephone, piercing her with their stingers. One stab to the neck, and Persephone fell to the ground dead.

"Persephone!" Apollo cried out, and turned to return to her.

"Do not go back, Apollo!" Luxa yelled to him. "She is gone!"

A spinner leaped out at Gregor and hit him the shoulder while he was watching Persephone. He stabbed it, and Apollo threw his weight to send the spinner flying. Apollo turned around again and raced onward with Aurora.

Gregor didn't think they could go on anymore; he was exhausted from the fight and Luxa lost her sword. Apollo was badly injured from before and now struck with grief. There was no way they continue fighting like this. Just then he heard a low rumble far behind them.

"What was that?" Gregor called to Luxa.

She looked at him with fear in her eyes, and shrugged. The spinners seemed to be communicating, and soon they were retreating. Gregor had no idea what happened, but all the spinners were leaving quickly.

"This is our chance," Luxa said, her face set with determination to escape.

* * *

Wynn and Howard hadn't made it far before they were discovered by the spinners. They had been making their way through the almost completely dark tunnel, when they walked right into a group of spinners. Wynn stood in shock, too afraid to even breathe. She felt a hand grab her arm roughly.

"Move," Howard snapped, and pulled her after him as he raced away from the spinners.

Howard was running his free hand along the tunnel wall for guidance while the other one painfully gripped Wynn's arm. She was so focused on running that she went right past him when he stopped. He pulled her back and into a small crevasse in the wall. As soon as she was in there, and felt real panic set in. Howard looked up to where the crevasse extended up into the darkness like a chimney.

"We are climbing up," he said.

"What?" Wynn didn't think she could climb under normal circumstances, and right now she was shaking. "There's no way. I-"

A spinner leg thrust into the crevasse, and Howard blocked it from hitting Wynn. She saw that it tore deeply into his arm, and blood gushed out onto both of them. Wynn gasped, and shoved for Howard to start climbing, and followed him. Luckily, the large, soldier spinners couldn't fit in the crevasse.

They climbed up the crevasse, which closed up so that it felt to Wynn as if they were really climbing up a chimney. She forced herself to keep breathing in the tiny, dark space while she hoped more than anything that it would open back up again soon. When they finally reached the top, which opened into a cave, she thought she might cry from relief.

Wynn grabbed her flashlight from her belt, and shined it around the cave. There were large metal barrels everywhere, sacks of all sizes, and crates. They had somehow found a short cut to the storage room. At the far end, a cliff led straight down to what sounded like a river.

"The supply room," Howard said. He held his bleeding arm. "Take the lids off all the barrels," he ordered. Wynn didn't question him, and popped off all the lids. All the while they kept checking to see if the spinners had made it to them yet. He kicked one barrel over, emptying out what was inside. Fuel. The smell burned Wynn's nose. Howard picked up the empty barrel, and carried it over to the river. He had at some point found a rope, and quickly threw it around Wynn. Howard began fumbling around in his pockets, and Wynn handed him matches that she kept in a small pack on her belt with her at all times.

"I am glad you understand," he said. He took a deep breath, and took hold of the empty barrel. Wynn grabbed his shirt. She was terrified, and really didn't want to lose the one person who was with her. Especially when he probably knew a whole lot more than her right now. Howard struck the match, dropped it on the fuel, and the two of them jumped into the river. Wynn had not yet hit the water when she heard all the open barrels explode above them.

Then she did hit the water, and was immediately swept away by the current. She lost hold of both her flashlight and Howard, while the current dragged her underwater. It was a fast moving section of the river, and Wynn scraped along the bottom bumping into rocks. She slammed her side into a large rock, and when she gasped she sucked in water. Her panic made her want to hyperventilate, but she had to get to the surface first. She kicked off the bottom and broke through the surface of the water.

She gasped and coughed water, causing her throat to burn. Her side was badly bruised, and she knew she had several cuts. Wynn didn't care about this though. Everything was pitch black, and it made her dizzy. Worst yet, she had lost Howard. The river had slowed down, and she tried looking around for any sign of him. She knew it was hopeless in the dark. She fumbled in her pack again, this time finding the tiny flash light she kept, silently thanking Gregor for finding every flashlight in the museum.

"Howard!" she called out as she shined the dim light around. "Howard!" Images of him floating face down in the water flashed through her head. She had to find him. "Howard! Answer me!"

"Wynn," came a weak response. She almost laughed in relief.

"Yeah. I'm here. Keep talking."

"I believe I am down river from you." So he was in front of her. _Geez, floating down a river after almost being killed, and he still can't use contractions._ Wynn swam toward his voice, and as she neared him she saw his eyes reflecting the light of her flash light. She crashed into the barrel. She felt around until she found him, and sighed in relief. He really was there. Not just a hallucination.

"I cannot let go of the barrel. Please get the flash light from my pocket." Wynn thought she must be going crazy because she laughed at that. It just seemed like a great line to get her to reach into his pants. She grabbed his flashlight, and turned it on. That was much better.

"What's up, home boy?" she asked, trying to joke to cover up her fear. He looked at her like she was crazy.

"I do not know the meaning of half the things you Overlanders say."

"That's ok, only about half is important. How's your arm?"

"I am bleeding out," he said calmly.

"What?" Why wasn't he freaking out? "Shouldn't we, I don't know. Tie it off? Or apply pressure?"

"Applying pressure will do little too nothing with the water, and tying it off will more than likely lead to me losing my arm with the cold of the river."

"Why aren't you panicking right now?" Howard smiled weakly.

"Would that help?" Wynn just scowled at him. She remembered the rope, which was still around her, and began tying it too herself. She tied the other half to Howard. It was slow work considering she was shivering now and her hands were going numb.

"I do not think that is wise," he shivered. "If I were to-"

"Shut up. I'm not getting separated from you again." He kept quiet, and leaned his head heavily on the barrel. She had to get him out of the water.

* * *

"Stay awake." Wynn cursed at Howard in every language she could think of. Her mother always did hate her foul language.

"I am," he mumbled, but his eyes were still closed. Wynn held onto him tighter to keep him from slipping under the water's surface. She listened carefully to the echoing of the river. She knew that the last time they saw the river was where the buzzers attacked, so that was the spot she would be able to get out. What she didn't know was if the river was a short cut or a longer route than they took with the spinners. She figured if she listened close enough, she would hear the change in echoes that would come from the tunnel opening up.

"Come on, you lazy bum. Can't you talk to me?" she asked desperately. "Like uh. Something inspirational? You have to avenge your father? You have a girl you just have to get home to?" Howard laughed harshly.

"My sisters?" His lips had turned blue over an hour ago. At least she thought it was an hour. Maybe more… Either way they had been in the water for a lot longer than that.

There it was. The change in echoes, as if the sounds of the river were now bouncing off the high ceiling of a cave instead of the tight confines of a tunnel. She had already worked her way over to the right side of the tunnel in preparation of getting out.

"If I'm wrong, and our stop is on the left, this is your fault, mister," she snapped at Howard. She felt the bottom of the river under her feet, but she struggled to slow down with the fast current. This was going to be almost impossible holding onto the barrel, flash light, and Underlander. She shined the light up ahead, saw where the bank of the river was, then slipped the light into her belt. With a deep breath, she let go of the barrel and held on tight to Howard.

He was heavy, and Wynn was convinced she was going to let go of him. The river got shallower, and she could now stand on her knees, though the fast current threatened to knock her over again. She pulled Howard with all her strength, and he seemed to be able to drag himself a bit too. With a final effort, they pulled themselves out of the water, and onto the rocky bank.

Wynn grabbed her flash light again, and shined it on him. That last effort seemed to knock him out. She scanned the cave with her light, and almost cried out in joy that it was the right one. The supplies they had left here were still stacked by the wall. She quickly ran to them, stumbling over herself, grabbed the box of medical supplies, and hurried back to Howard.

She checked the wound on his arm, and saw that it was puffy and white. He had lost a lot of blood. Wynn grabbed some cloth, shoved it on the wound, and tied it on. Between being freezing cold and near panic, Wynn's hands shook, but she willed them to stop.

"Ok, lazy bum. Wake up." She grabbed Howard's arm roughly, and he woke with a cry of pain. "No more sleeping," she said firmly. "I'm going to do something, and you're going to have to talk me through it ok?"

"Yes," he replied weakly.

"Good, so you're not useless after all." She rummaged through the supplies and got to work.


	11. Chapter 11

11

Gregor jumped back over to Aurora because Apollo's injury couldn't support him. The fliers slowed down slightly to a more sustainable pace, but they were still moving fast. Gregor's heart was still racing from the fight and their lucky escape. He hoped his cousin was just as lucky. They flew on for an hour before Apollo started lagging behind.

"Apollo needs to rest," Gregor whispered to Luxa.

"He must be strong," she replied. "We must get farther from the spinners before we try to rest. We do not know if or when they will pursue us again." She was right, but Gregor was still worried about the flier. At least Gregor wasn't badly injured himself (though his whole left shoulder was covered in a purple bruise), and Luxa may have broken her wrist but she had no serious open wounds. Aurora had also made it out with few injuries. Gregor didn't really care about the shiners, but he figured they were fine since they weren't complaining. He was actually a little surprised they followed them.

Luxa had them fly for another two hours before allowing them to break. Gregor wished he had something to help Apollo with, but all their medical supplies had been left back where the spinners had found them. Besides, it appeared Apollo just wanted to curl up quietly anyway. Aurora huddled with him, so Gregor and Luxa gave them some privacy.

"This is outrageous!" Lumis screamed.

"You humans have tried to lead us to our death!" Gleam yelled.

"I was wondering when they were going to start complaining," Gregor mumbled. Luxa raised her chin in her regal manner as if she were actually listening to them.

"We are leaving at once! You can no longer provide us with food like you promised, so we are not giving you light," Lumis spat. The two shiners began to take off when Luxa called out to them.

"And where will you go?" The shiners paused. "One direction will lead you back to the spinners, and they will most surely devour you." Gregor felt himself smile as the shiners started shaking. "The other direction will lead you to the Regalian outpost. How do you think they will receive you knowing you abandoned their queen?" Her tone was light, but the threat was obvious. Gregor was impressed with what Luxa could do with just a couple sentences.

"You were going to lead me to my death," Gleam yelled at Lumis.

"Me? This was your idea," Lumis shot back. They fought on, but everyone else ignored them.

"I almost wish they would go," Gregor said. "I can find my way in the dark."

"Yes, but we may need their light later," Luxa replied wearily. He looked at her, and though her face was stoic, he could tell she was holding back tears. Gregor couldn't imagine how she felt. Her first diplomatic mission as queen had failed, her bond was somewhere unknown and in danger, and her cousin in the same position.

"Do you think they made it out?" he asked her. He was seriously worried about Wynn. Of the whole group, she was the most ill prepared of them. He could imagine Luxa taking care of herself, but he couldn't think of his cousin as tough like the queen.

"I must believe they did." She took a deep breath. "Do you need rest?" she asked him.

"No," Gregor shook his head. "Let's take a look at your wrist." They sat down, and Gregor examined it the best he could. He was pretty sure it wasn't completely broken, but for all he knew it could be sprained or fractured. Luxa allowed him to rewrap it, which Gregor thought was better than nothing. When he was done, he didn't let go of her hand, and looked into her violet eyes.

"I know you won't believe me, but you did really great back there," he said. She scoffed at him. "No really. Vikus would be proud."

"Yes, but we are still at war. I have failed." She said it forcefully, as if she blamed him, but he knew the anger was directed toward herself. Gregor didn't know how to respond to her, so he just held her hand. After several minutes he took a deep breath.

"I love you, Luxa. You know that right?" Luxa looked up at him in surprise, then she relaxed and smiled.

"Yes, I know. I love you too." Gregor smiled back wearily. Sometimes it's comforting to hear those words. The two of them stayed alert together for a few hours so the fliers could get some desperately needed sleep. With all the flying they had done in the past few days, Gregor didn't know how they were still going. When Luxa finally decided it was time to move on, Gregor asked her if she had a plan.

"We are still too close to the spinners, so we must move forward," was all she said.

"What about the others?" he asked. "We need to meet back up with them." He watched as Luxa thought. Gregor felt bad he was putting all the pressure on Luxa. She was the queen, but she shouldn't have to be the sole leader or the only one thinking right now. He racked his brain to come up with a plan.

"Ripred will surely be able to lead Nike to safety, and then retrace our route. Our cousins…" she started. The queen looked uncertain.

"Ripred said they had to follow the river down another path. How many rivers are around here?" Gregor asked.

"To my knowledge, just one."

"Well then the last time we saw the river was where those wasp things attacked. Would that be far enough away to wait?" She thought again.

"At least a day's journey for the spinners. We should be able to wait for the company there," she said. Gregor was happy to see the confidence returning to her face. They both climbed on Aurora, and took off. Because they were able to fly faster, Gregor figured it wouldn't take a full day to get back to the ambush site, but he knew it would still take several hours. He hoped his cousin was alright.

They flew on in silence, and Gregor wished there was something to say to Apollo, who was taking the death of Persephone particularly bad. He knew there was nothing to say though. Gregor wondered if they had been mates. They flew for hours, and Gregor thought they might be getting close. Aurora's ears perked up.

"The site is ahead," she said. Gregor heard excitement in her voice. "Someone is waiting there."

 _Someone? Just one._ He hoped she was wrong.

They flew into the ambush site, and the shiner's light flooded the area. There Gregor saw a figure sitting against the wall of the tunnel next to the river covered in blankets. Gregor felt his heart leap as he and Luxa raced over.

"Gregor?" It was Wynn. Gregor picked up his pace, but Luxa stopped short. _Where was Howard?_ His cousin was sitting under a blanket which had been left behind after the attack. There was a puddle of blood next to her, and medical supplies were thrown everywhere.

"Gregor, are you ok?" Her voice shook so much, Gregor thought she might be crying.

"Yeah. I'm fine." He was so happy to see her. He heard Luxa sob behind him.

"Help him," Wynn told him. She pulled back the blanket revealing Howard. Luxa gasped and ran over, falling to her knees in front of her cousin, and taking his face in her hands.

"Howard? Cousin?" She shook him, then put her head to his chest. "His heart beats," she said happily.

"I'm so sorry, Luxa. I." Wynn started to talk fast. Gregor helped Luxa lay down her cousin and examine him.

"I panicked… and he. It was my fault." She spoke in broken sentences. From what Gregor gathered from it, Howard was hurt (Gregor found a huge gash in his upper left arm), they lit the spinner's supply of fuel on fire (which Gregor assumed was the rumble that drew away the spinners), then they jumped in the river. That didn't explain all the blood.

"He lost so much blood in the water, Gregor," his cousin continued. "He was so cold. And. And. I barely found a pulse. And I couldn't just do nothing."

Luxa was properly patching up the gash in his arm, when Gregor noticed a small bandage on his right arm. He looked at Wynn, and saw a matching one on her left wrist.

"Wynn. What did you do?"

"I'm O negative. And I couldn't make it any worse. He talked me through it before passing out." She was shaking and starting to hyperventilate. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for him to get hurt."

Luxa appeared next to Gregor now, and put a bottle to Wynn's lips, making her drink. In a second, she was asleep.

"Stop sedating my cousin," Gregor scolded Luxa. "It's going to cause permanent damage or something."

"She is already strange, sedation will not make it worse. Besides, I need you to help _me_ , not be distracted by _her_." Gregor couldn't argue with that. They stitched Howard's arm, then re-bandaged Apollo's injuries. Gregor did most of the work since Luxa had only one good hand. She would have to wait for her cousin to wake up before she could get help for her wrist. In the meantime, Gregor fixed up all his and Aurora's cuts.

* * *

"Wynnora saved his life," Luxa said to Gregor softly. "She must have pulled him out of the river, and then gave him her blood."

"It was quick thinking," Gregor replied. He was looking at his cousin with a smile, and Luxa saw a look of pride in his eyes.

"I am in her debt. If I had lost, How-" Luxa did not mean for her voice to break. She hated when that happened. She quickly composed herself. "I am in her debt," the queen repeated. Gregor turned his smile to her now.

"I remember when you hated him. Good times," he teased her.

"Oh I still do. He has some nerve causing me such stress. He will not hear the end of it." They both laughed softly. He could always get a laugh out of her, but she was not sure why. The past few days were finally catching up to her, and she felt fatigue weigh down on her. She let her head fall on Gregor's shoulder, and sighed.

"It'll be ok," he whispered. She did not bother to respond.

Just then they heard a noise down the tunnel. Gregor was on his feet in a second, his sword drawn and ready. Luxa wished she could draw her sword, but at this point she could not even move her fingers. She appreciated that Gregor was still alert for her. Luckily, it was just Nike who flew in with Ripred running behind her. Luxa relaxed.

"Calm down, boy. I'm not that ugly," Ripred said. Luxa was glad to see him alive and well, but would not give him the satisfaction of saying so. It would only lead to his taunting.

"Howard. How fare Howard?" Nike asked anxiously. She was clearly scared for him.

"He is safe, Nike," Luxa said gently. They were practically bonds, so she did not want to upset the flier further. "He was injured, but rests now. Right now I must send a message back to Regalia."

"That's what I am here for," Ripred said, swaggering over to her. "I'll get it back to the outpost, and they'll take it from there. Really, I don't know what you pups would do without me."

"Have you the energy for this?"

"We gnawers are not as fragile as you humans. I'll get your message to Regalia. Hurry before I change my mind." Gregor grabbed paper from Wynnora's book, which had been with Nike, and handed it to Luxa. She began writing instructions to begin preparations for a siege, and could not help scolding Howard in his sleep for not being awake to tell her how many soldiers the Fount could spare. When she finished the message, Ripred took it and was off again.

Luxa sat down next to her cousin, and Gregor told her he would keep watch while she slept. Luxa did not want to sleep, she had too many things to think about.

"If you want," Gregor began awkwardly. "You can. If you're uncomfortable. I mean you can lean on me if you want to." Luxa was always amazed that Overlanders could blush so obviously even though they were dark. She forced herself not to smile, and leaned her head of his shoulder again. They listened to Nike as she recounted Ripred leading her through the tunnels. Apparently, the blast from the fuel helped in their escape too.

Howard was the first to wake. Luxa snapped her head up immediately, partly out of excitement to see her cousin awake, and partly out of guilt. She knew Howard would misinterpret her leaning on Gregor. Howard tried to sit up but fell back down, so Luxa leaned over him.

"Nike is resting," she explained. He let a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"I am so happy to hear that," he sighed. "What happened?" Gregor tried to tell him what they knew, but it was not much. Luxa put her hand on her cousin's shoulder, and he reached up with great effort to hold her hand. Gregor continued the story, which Howard seemed to have no memory of.

"She did what?" Howard asked. Luxa guessed the shock of escaping and his injury had damaged his memory. Gregor held up his cousin's arm to show him the small bandage. "I do not believe it. Did you sedate her?"

"No. That was Luxa."

"Who told you to do that?" he scolded her. "With her loss of blood, who knows when Wynn will awaken?" Gregor tried to cover a smile, but failed miserably. He always seemed to think he covered his laughs or smiles, but he never actually did. Luxa rolled her eyes.

"She was panicking, and we had you to look after. I merely wished for her to rest, so that Gregor and I would could focus on other matters." Luxa explained it in the overly calm voice that Howard always used with her. She was glad to see it annoyed him. He shook his head.

"I am glad to you see are well at least," he said to her.

"And I am glad to see your sword arm in not the injured one. You may not be completely useless to me yet," Luxa replied. Her cousin just closed his eyes and ignored her, while Gregor laughed without bothering to try to cover it.

* * *

Gregor gave Nike and Wynn a few more hours to sleep, and made everyone else eat. He left it to Aurora to get Apollo to eat, who was still clearly grieving. When everyone was finally awake, Gregor flew on Nike with his cousin, and Luxa watched over Howard on Aurora. The trip was mostly silent, though he occasionally heard the Regalians talk to each other, and he wondered what they were saying. He didn't get a chance to ask because the fliers insisted on going until it was time to break for the day. Everyone was in a hurry to get back to Regalia.

They all dismounted, and the fliers ate quickly and went right to sleep. Gregor couldn't blame them. The last few days had been extremely trying on them, and he wanted them to get all the rest they could. The humans sat down together, and none of them even looked at each other for some time. Finally, Howard broke the silence.

"What will we say about the prophecy?" he asked quietly.

"That it was wrong. That it lead us astray," Luxa spat. Howard ignored her cutting tone.

"We cannot say that, Luxa," he said gently. "Think of Nerissa. If we just throw aside the prophecy, any legitimacy she may have had will be lost. People will think her mad, and nothing more."

"And what are we to say?" Luxa was clearly agitated. "The prophecy meant for me to end this war peaceably. I have failed. We cannot go back to Regalia with excuses."

"Where exactly in the prophecy does it say you would end to war peaceably?" Wynn asked. Gregor was pretty sure they had all forgotten she was there. She lay curled up on her side with a cold from being in a river for so long. They all looked at her in confusion. Gregor thought back to the prophecy. There was no mention of a peaceful end actually, just that the war would be ended.

"It says the war will end, and Regalia will change," Luxa said, clearly annoyed. "I was meant to end this war in a wholly un-Regalian, peaceful way."

"But that's not what the prophecy says _exactly_ ," Gregor put in. "So maybe you have to end the war through force. Maybe it won't end right away. But it will sooner or later. And as for changing Regalia. The prophecy actually says 'change the view.' Well you already did that."

"How do you mean?"

"When was the last time a Regalian monarch went out of their way to negotiate peace without fighting, and practically admit their own contribution to the start of a war?" Gregor asked.

"It would be safe to say never," Howard said dryly.

"You already started changing Regalia and the image it has. The spinners say you are awful and liars and killers. Well this proves you are putting out the effort to change that. You just need to keep up the good work," Gregor told her, looking into her eyes to see if she agreed with him. The queen didn't look convinced, but she accepted the interpretation anyway.

They all agreed on this interpretation of the mission and prophecy. Gregor was pretty sure Luxa didn't fully believed it, and just agreed to it to help Nerissa. Either way, he thought it was right, and it would give Regalia some goals to work toward.

* * *

 **Hmmm, some Gluxa. I always saw them as caring very deeply for each other (obviously), but idk what that can realistically turn into (not that fiction has to be realistic).**


	12. Chapter 12

12

They entered Regalia, and the fliers went right to the High Hall. Vikus and Ripred stood there waiting for them. Vikus greeted them all warmly, clearly happy his grandchildren made it back alive. Luxa, however, was just in a bad mood. She quickly explained what they had agreed upon as the interpretation of the prophecy, and they appeared to like it. Gregor wondered if Ripred was already trying to think of a way of using it to his benefit.

When they arrived in Regalia, everything seemed to happen very quickly. Apollo was rushed away to have is wing looked at by doctors. Howard was also rushed away to have his arm treated and to fully rest after all his blood loss. Luxa gave Vikus an incredibly short summary of what happened on the journey. Then she made Gregor her personal guard.

"What?" Gregor didn't believe what he heard.

"You will remain by my side during the day. I cannot hold a sword myself, and so I will need protection. In addition to Aurora of course. I do not know when the spinners will attack the city, but I am sure they will do so soon. When that happens, I will have a rager by my side," she explained briskly. "Two, if Ripred feels like staying near me." There was no arguing, so Gregor just nodded dumbly.

"I go where I am needed," Ripred said dramatically, earning an eye roll from the queen.

Luxa gave Gregor instructions for later and left with her grandfather, while Gregor was sent to his quarters with his cousin. He was told to wash and rest, then report to Luxa the next day. He was slightly concerned leaving his cousin on her own. She didn't really know any of the Underlanders, and he didn't want her to be lonely. Gregor could only assume she was just as homesick as him now that they knew they couldn't get home soon.

"Are you going to be ok on your own?" he asked his cousin while they walked through the palace corridors. She nodded.

"I'll make myself useful somehow," she said. "Also, Ripred wants me for something. I don't know what. Should I be worried?"

"Mmm." Gregor thought back to the times he was alone with Ripred. Training and some talks, both of which were tough to handle. "I don't really know. But he's probably the safest guy to be around."

"Yeah, if he doesn't eat me himself," she replied, then walked right into Nerissa. The two women stumbled back, and Wynn apologized profusely. Nerissa still looked as thin, weak, and sleep deprived as Gregor remembered her. Her hair hung to her waist in messy curls, which Gregor thought made her look crazier.

"Oh," Nerissa gasped. She shook from the encounter. "My apologies."

"Oh. No," Wynn said quickly. "It was my fault. I should watch where I'm going."

"Nonsense. Thank you," she said to both of them, "for watching over my family. I knew you were the ones in the prophecy." Gregor exchanged an uncomfortable look with his cousin. Nerissa noticed, which surprised Gregor because she was usually oblivious to her surroundings. "Worry not, Overlanders. Luxa may believe herself a failure, but you see the truth." With that she walked away.

"You know," Wynn said, watching her walk away, "I like that girl."

"Me too," Gregor nodded. Even if she was a little crazy.

They went to their quarters, washed, and ate. They both wanted to stay up and talk, but were too exhausted after the trying journey they just had. It was too difficult to try to stay awake, and they both went to bed.

* * *

"I will choose a new chief medical officer by tomorrow," Vikus said. "Until then, see you over the preparations for a battle, but do not strain yourself. I allow this only because you know what Luxa and Mareth want, but you must still rest until you are fully recovered."

Howard nodded, as he walked with his grandfather through the corridors of the palace. The last chief medical officer had been killed while tending to soldiers who fought in a small skirmish with the spinners. The woman had only been in the position for a few months, and already she was dead. Then again, that was how things worked in the Underland.

"Is there anything else you wish for me to do?" Howard asked.

"Oh no. I do not wish to over work you." The older man paused. "I have seen much of Gregor these past few days, but not his cousin. Tell me, what do you think of her?"

"What would you like to know?" To be honest, Howard had not seen her since they arrived in Regalia, and preferred it that way.

"She is the Warrior's cousin, but I do not think she herself is a fighter," Vikus explained. "Should I make plans for her to be sheltered in case of a battle? I think that might be best. From what I have seen, she has the sharp tongue of a gnawer, and I would not want her exciting the spinners." Howard looked at his grandfather in surprise.

"It is not like you to speak poorly of people, especially behind their back."

"When did I say this was a negative comment?" Vikus smiled at Howard, and he knew the man had a lesson to teach. "You assume I meant this as an insult, because I compared her to a gnawer. The gnawers' attitude is their culture, and is useful in some ways. It would seem your assumption reveals some lingering prejudices you have for the gnawers."

Howard had barely said anything, and Vikus had still found something for him to think about. He sighed. There was no sense in denying his words, many Underlanders were still openly opposed to any relationship with the gnawers. Any comparison to a gnawer was, in fact, considered a terrible insult. Howard had never considered what that actually implied, and apparently he had some bigotry to deal with.

Before he could reply, they rounded the corner and saw Wynnora walking toward them. The two men paused, but the Overlander was looking at the wall as she walked and bumped right into Vikus.

"Oh. I'm sorry," she said quickly, blushing slightly and mumbling something about having to stop doing that. Howard clasped his hands behind his back and looked down at her. She was dressed like an Underlander, except she cuffed the bottom of her pants for some reason. He also noticed that unlike usual, her golden, copper hair was now down and fell about her shoulders. Gregor had said she was about Howard's age, but to him she looked younger. It did not help that she behaved like a child too.

"Greetings Overlander," Vikus said warmly.

"Just Wynn actually."

"Of course. Wynn. What are you doing at the moment?"

"Um," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "Getting lost."

"You have gotten lost?"

"Yes. On purpose. I got bored, so I figured why not? Now I am thoroughly lost. I can't even remember what floor I'm on." Howard and Vikus both stared at her for a moment, unsure of how to respond. "It helps me not to think," she explained. Vikus recovered first.

"You wish not to think? Why is this?" The girl shrugged.

"Well now I'm stuck here, and I don't really want to think about what that means. What happens to Overlanders who fall down here? Do they just sort of live alone?" Vikus smiled warmly.

"Many make friends with our people," he explained. "They find jobs they enjoy, in the palace or in the city, and make the best of the situation." Howard already knew that was not what she meant.

"But Gregor and I can never get married. We can never have a family." The smile disappeared from Vikus's face, but he refused to look away from her.

"That would be an accurate assumption," he admitted. The old man exchanged an uncomfortable look with his grandson before clearing his throat and continuing. "If you wish for something to occupy your time, you may assist Howard in the medical wing. There is much to be done." Her blue eyes flicked to Howard.

"I would be glad to have the company," Howard said politely, though he was not sure if this was the best idea.

"Then it is settled," Vikus added quickly. "I go now to speak with Luxa. If you have any letters to be sent to The Fount, please give them to me by tomorrow."

"They are already in your chambers." He said good bye to Vikus, then gestured for Wynnora to follow him.

"Is Gregor with Luxa?" she asked.

"I would imagine so. He is her guard now," Howard replied.

"Alone?"

"No." He looked down at her as they started down a stair case. "Why do you ask?"

"Two teenagers. Alone. I'd rather they stay supervised," she explained.

"What are you implying about my cousin?" He could not keep the edge from his voice, but the Overlander seemed not to care.

"That she's incredibly smart, confident, talented," Wynnora said. "Did I mention she's gorgeous? Hell, I'd totally want to ask her out, and I don't even swing that way." She smiled at Howard now. "And Gregor isn't so bad himself." From what Howard actually understood of what she just said, he did not like what she was implying.

"Perhaps you should keep these ideas to yourself." They entered the hospital wing. Most of the staff had been moved to help bring in the crops early. Those who remained were doing heavy lifting chores of moving supplies. Wynnora watched as the people bustled about, and Howard gently pulled her along by the arm. They entered a small separate room with a single table in the center and two chairs. Shelves of vials, jars, and packets lined the walls. He handed her a scroll with instructions.

"Do you understand these?" he asked. "Everything should be clearly labeled." The instructions had details for how to fill a medical kit. Wynnora nodded, and got right to work without a word. Howard sat across from her and set to work filling vials and jars, counting bandages, and keeping an eye on the Overlander's work. It was not long before she started humming softly to herself, swaying ever so slightly to the tune.

"So what do you guys have against contractions?" she asked abruptly. Howard looked up from his work, and saw her looking at him, her chin resting on her hand.

"It's an aesthetic choice. Don't you think it sounds better?" he explained, mocking her accent. To his surprise, she laughed, then raised her chin in a superior fashion.

"Correct you are, Underlander. Your choice to keep separate all of your words is indeed superior to my own condensed speech," she said, mocking his accent in return. Howard tired not to smile.

"I believe you confuse my speech with my cousin's superior tone."

"There you are wrong, Howard the Underlander. You share this superiority with your cousin." Wynnora laughed again, and he shook his head. He wondered what brought this on. She went back to humming, and Howard found he kept glancing up at her. He saw the way she pushed her hair back from her face, and her cheeks always seemed to be flushed, how the top few buttons of her shirt had come undone… He snapped his attention back to his work again.

After several minutes, the room got quiet again. Howard looked up, realizing he missed the soft humming. Wynnora's face was scrunched up slightly, as if she were concentrating on something. She finally put down the kit she was working on, and looked up.

"He acts so much like all of you," she said. Howard noted the sadness in her tone.

"Who?" he asked, though he already knew.

"Gregor. I mean, he still acts like an Overlander, but…" She thought a moment. "He just jumps into fights. And seems to always know what he's doing. Like an Underlander. And he gets along with you so well…" She was not looking at him.

"We met Gregor at a very impressionable age. That is not even considering the dangers we faced together. These things tend to bond people," Howard explained as gently as he could.

"You got to bond with him, while I didn't even get to speak to him during those years." Wynnora looked up, and Howard was taken aback by the resentment he saw in her eyes. "You would have let him die. Yet he cares about all of you. He even likes you better than me. I mean, I get why he would like Luxa, but you. He probably thinks of you as his brother. I'm _actually_ his family."

Howard felt his face grow hot from the scolding. It was as if she had let out all the anger she had for the Underlanders. She was jealous of his relationship with Gregor, and she was mad at the Underlanders for using him. Howard could think of nothing to say. He wanted to apologize, but he was not sure how to. Wynnora quickly composed herself though. She bit her lip, and switched back to working on the kits in silence for a while.

"So an underground city turned out to be nothing like I expected. You don't worship a nuclear bomb do you?" she asked after a while, obviously forcing a happier tone. Howard took on a lighter tone as well. He was good at controlling how he sounded, something everyone in the upper class (especially the royal family) could do, though Luxa was far better at it.

"Considering I do not know what that is, I will have to say no."

"I see… No trolls?"

"Not unless you count Ripred." That earned a smile from Wynnora.

"No dwarves?"

"I am afraid not."

"Pity," she said, covering a smile wither her hand. "I guess I'll just have to do with violet eyed people and giant bats."

* * *

Luxa sat in a chair, and stared down Ripred. The gnawer just looked tired of her, but his insolent attitude would not get him what he wanted.

"Aurora, what do you think of Ripred's idea?" Ripred had requested a meeting, so now he, Luxa, Gregor, Mareth, and Aurora were thinking over his complaint. Reipred did not want to keep the injured and citizens in the High Hall during the spinner attack.

"I do not agree," she answered simply. Luxa almost smiled at that.

"Well would the queen's bond care to elaborate her answer for her humble servants?" Ripred asked in a mocking tone.

"We do not know when the spinners will attack. Changing the location of where we will keep evacuated citizens would mean reorganizing a dozen other arrangements. Do we have the time for this?"

"I am not sure we do," Mareth answered. "To be safe, I would say we do not, and it would be disastrous to be caught unprepared." Luxa nodded, and looked back to Ripred. That was just her argument, and she waited for the gnawer to admit he was wrong.

"You are not fighting gnawers anymore," Ripred said. "The spinners can climb straight up walls, and I guarantee their first target will be the giant room with no roof. That means you will be putting all your people right in their line of attack."

"The fliers need the lack of roof in order to drop off the wounded and make fast evacuations," Aurora said.

"But Ripred makes a valid point," Mareth added. Luxa rubbed her eyes. What was the point of seeking advice if no one agreed with each other? It did not help that they were evenly split. She looked over to Gregor.

"What do you say?" she asked.

"I don't think I'm qualif-"

"Just tell the queen what you think," Ripred whined. Luxa knew he was not qualified, she just wanted another opinion. Gregor thought a moment.

"I'd really rather not get caught unprepared. I think we should keep things the way they are." That was what Luxa had thought from the beginning, and should she not trust he intuition?

"Wrong answer, pup," Ripred growled. Luxa looked around, and made her decision.

"We keep our plan the way it is. Mareth, make an additional strategy in case the High Hall is attacked and needs additional support or evacuation."

"You are going to listen to a boy over a war hero?" Ripred asked in disbelief.

"I have considered everyone's opinions," Luxa said firmly. "And he is also a war hero." Ripred shook his head, and turned to leave. He stopped next to Gregor for a moment.

"You're going to regret making that advice," he growled at him.


	13. Chapter 13

13

Gregor and Wynn got into a routine for the next two weeks. Wynn woke up early to go train with Ripred somewhere under the palace, then she went and tried to be useful somewhere. Gregor got up each morning, put on his Regalian uniform (which made him self-conscious because he thought he didn't deserve it), and reported to Luxa. He followed her on her errands each day to oversee preparations for a spinners' inevitable attack on the city. Gregor got to see the supply rooms, the crops, the armory, training, and everything else that went on in the city. At lunch time, he went to the hospital and ate with Howard and Mareth. Then he returned to finish the day with Luxa, before going to his quarters for dinner with his cousin.

It really wasn't that bad of an arrangement except that Gregor missed his family very much. How long had he been down here? He tried to count the days. He spent two days in Regalia. Then three to the outpost. Two again to the spinners. Maybe only four to get all the way back to Regalia. Then two weeks in the city. It was so hard to count days in the Underland, but Gregor estimated he had been down here for a month.

That was more than enough time for his family to worry about him. He fell down the last day in May. That meant it was probably July now. It was too hard to think about. Maybe something would happen, and he would be able to return home soon.

Gregor was standing on the docks next to the river with Luxa now. Most of the time Gregor could barely follow the plans she made, but this time he knew what she was talking about. She was sending a message to Hazard, who would remain in the Fount until the danger passed. The messenger bowed to Luxa, then climbed on the flier and took off down the tunnel with the river. Luxa sighed.

"I hope my cousins are not too terrible to him," she said.

"Sushanna seemed nice when I met her. I'm sure she's watching him." Gregor liked Howard's mom, and trusted that she would watch him. Luxa didn't look convinced.

"She cannot always be there to protect him," Luxa said. "And Stellovet can be so cruel. If I find out she has said anything about his lineage…" The queen took a deep breath, and calmed down. Gregor liked seeing her like this. Not stressed out, but concerned for Hazard. She considered him her brother, and Gregor thought it was good for her to have family to worry about. He knew it wasn't fun to worry about siblings, but it meant you had people you truly cared about. Gregor put a hand on Luxa's shoulder, and she looked at him.

"Hazard is fine," Gregor assured her. "I'm sure you've talked to him enough about all that stuff, so anything Stellovet says will mean nothing." Luxa smiled gratefully. "And if he is upset when he gets home, I know you'll be able to help him through it."

"I hope so. Sometimes I do not think I am very good at cheering him. That is more of something Vikus does. Or you." Luxa pushed up her crown. "I am more of the type to make enemies fall before me." Gregor laughed, though he knew she wasn't joking.

"Well you keep that confidence, you'll need it."

Luxa appeared to be about to say something when Gregor heard a horn go off. He had learned it was the sign for attack. The spinners were making their attack on Regalia now. They must have snuck past or killed the guards around the city, because they immediately poured in through the river tunnel without any warning from Regalian scouts.

Gregor drew his sword and dagger, and Luxa did the same. She was still barely able to hold the sword, but Gregor knew that wouldn't stop her from trying. They watched as the spinners crawled ups the walls, and some even went on the ceiling. Underlanders rushed to carry out the plans they had made in advance, and several soldiers were calling out orders. The scene looked like a sort of organized madness.

"You have to go," Gregor told Luxa. Already, people were being snatched up by spinner webs, and he knew their location was in no way a strategically advantageous spot for the queen.

"I do not think I shall. They will not make me flee this time." Luxa crouched as if preparing to leap into battle, and Aurora landed behind her. Greogr thought they looked like a formidable pair, but he knew that Luxa wouldn't be fighting at her best. Soldiers began flying out and attacking the spinners, prying them off the walls and throwing them to the ground.

Gregor pushed Luxa onto Aurora. "Go to the palace like Mareth told you," he ordered her. He was honestly scared to talk to her like this, but he had no choice. "You'll only get in the way out here. You can give orders from the palace, and that will be more useful."Luxa glared at him.

"I will make you regret speaking to me in such a way," she told him.

"I'm counting on it," he said back, managing a small smile, his hand lingering on her's. "Now hurry. I'm going to see what help I can be down here." He let go of her, and Aurora lifted off, glaring at him as well. They sped for the palace. Now Gregor had to find where he could possibly be useful on the ground.

* * *

Wynn was caught up in an Underland book when she heard the horns. She had no idea what they meant.

"I guess they forgot to tell me about this," she mumbled to herself as she walked to the window of her bedroom and pulled back the curtain. The scene below her caused her to stomach to turn, and she honestly thought she might throw up. Wynn's first thought was of her cousin. What if Gregor was down there? He had no flier, and the people on the ground were quickly caught by spinners.

Wynn watched as fliers protected the citizens trying to flee to the palace. That was their main priority at the moment. Not to counter the spinner army, but to protect the citizens and get them into High Hall. She heard the curtain get thrown aside behind her. She gasped and turned, so scared her head was dizzy. It was only Ripred though.

"What are you just standing there for, girl?" he growled at her. "Grab your bow, and let's get going." She had no idea what he was talking about, but figured it was probably better to listen to him. Ripred was an ass, but he was smart and a fighter. She was better off with him. With shaking hands, Wynn grabbed her bow from beside her bed and ran after Ripred.

She could barely keep up with him, and she was sprinting as fast as she could through the palace corridors. The hallways were mostly empty on this level, so at least she had no one to bump into. Ripred turned to a staircase, and Wynn ran up behind him. They came out to the very top of the palace.

"Now, let's see what you learned in training."

"What?" Wynn was still confused. She looked out and saw spinners crawling along the ceiling toward to palace, and others were already trying to scale the palace walls. The Regalian soldiers and fliers were too busy protecting the citizens to keep pulling the spinners down.

"Shoot, girl," Ripred barked. "You knock them off the wall, or people are going to die. Now shoot!" A cold fear ran through her body, but Wynn grabbed an arrow and shot it. It fell short of a spinner on the wall. "Hit something!" She took a few deep breaths, aimed another arrow, and nailed a spinner right in the eye. It made her sick, but she loosed seven more arrows, each one finding its way into some part of a spinner.

"This is no good," Ripred growled. "You're too slow to be of any use here." Wynn was about to yell that she was doing her best and this was really tiring, but he cut her off. "Follow me, Wynnie. Keep up." She ran after the gnawer as he sped through the corridors. This time the hallways filled with people: soldiers, palace staff, citizens. Wynn weaved her way through them, then pushed through a curtain after Ripred into High Hall. It was filled with people from the city, all crowded into the large space.

"Get these people out of here!" Ripred ordered a soldier.

"We are under General Mareth's orders to keep them here for their safety," the soldier replied. Wynn was amazed at how collected he sounded. She didn't even think she could talk at the moment.

"Well I am telling you that the spinners are headed right here," Ripred yelled back. "They know the people are herded in here, and they are clearly trying to scale the wall to get in right now!"

"We cannot disobey-"

"Just move them to far side of the hall at least," Wynn blurted out, her voice only cracking a little. The soldier look at her in surprise.

"That's using your head for once, Wynnie," Ripred said. "Get the people near the far exit. Wynnie, you come with me." The soldier began moving the people away from the wall and closer to the far exit. Wynn followed Ripred closer to the wall. _Why are we heading closer to the danger?_

"Stupid humans didn't put enough defense in here," Ripred grumbled. "When the spinners come over that wall, you shoot. _Do not miss_." Wynn tried to nod, but she was shaking too bad. She drew an arrow, and held it ready to draw back. Several minutes passed, each one making her stomach twist itself into a tighter not. The people had been moved to the far side, but more were still showing up on fliers. Why did Mareth and Luxa not put more soldiers in here? Many of the people present were injured and couldn't protect themselves.

It seemed like all at once, dozens of spinners began pouring over the top of the wall, climbing in High Hall. Ripred didn't hesitate to leap into the fight, and began tearing the first spinners to hit the ground apart. Wynn hesitated, too afraid to move. She watched as the enormous spiders sped down the wall and onto the floor in a wave. Then she heard screaming behind her. The Underlanders were being rushed out of the hall, protected by the few soldiers who were present. She had to give them at least a small head start.

Wynn loosed an arrow, and it landed in a spinner's knee. It fell off the wall, taking two more down with it. There was her strategy. She continued shooting arrows so that spinners would fall on top of each other. Unfortunately, they were coming too fast for her or Ripred to keep at bay. They were already starting to swarm to floor of High Hall, and soldiers stepped forward to keep them away from the fleeing Underlanders.

In no time at all, Wynn was down to her last three arrows. She shot one into the eye of a spinner who was charging her. It slid to her in the blood on the floor, and lay dead at her feet. She shot her second one to keep a spinner from a soldier. She turned, and saw a spinner try to stab a small girl with its leg. Wynn loosed her arrow, and injured the spinner, allowing the girl to run.

That was it. Wynn had to get out now, but she was too far into the fighting to ever make it to the exit. There were spinners all around her. A large one charged for her now, and she whipped her bow across its head. The spinner hissed, more angry than hurt, and kicked Wynn hard. She flew through the air, and landed hard on the ground, hitting her head. Her vision went fuzzy, and when the world came back into focus, a small spinner was above her. It stepped out, and stabbed her in her lower side.

Wynn screamed in pain. The spinner lifted its leg to stab again. Wynn braced herself for the pain. For death. She wasn't sure which it would be. Suddenly, a streak of fur slammed into the spinner. Ripred tore off its head, then rushed back to Wynn. Her wound hurt so much, she didn't even feel thankful. Her breathing came in short, shallow breaths while she tried to keep her eyes opened and focused. It wasn't working. She gasped for air, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed onto the floor.

* * *

Gregor saw that spinners were dropping down from the ceiling and attacking the Regalian civilians. Soldiers were trying to evacuate them to the High Hall, but they couldn't go fast enough. Gregor decided it was best to defend the people on the ground to give them a chance to escape.

He let his rager senses take over, then raced into battle. He was just aware enough to know where the humans were that he needed to protect, and he made sure to not lose control (something he had been working on with Ripred) as he sliced out at spinner legs. There seemed to be hundreds of them constantly stepping out to impale someone or to kick a diving flier away. When his senses allowed him to focus on one spinner, he would chop off two legs so that it would fall, then stab his sword in the eye or slice along its abdomen.

Amongst the flashes of legs, Gregor saw a small boy alone some yards away. At first he continued slashing out at spinners, but then he forced himself to focus on the boy. What was he thinking? He couldn't just leave him. Gregor sprinted for the boy as he saw two smaller spinners charge toward him. The boy crouched, and Gregor spun in front of him, making the spinners reel back.

"Run!" Gregor yell at him. The boy stayed where he was, too afraid to move. This kid was not making this easy. Gregor hacked at one of the spinner's legs, then two fliers swooped down and carried them away. Gregor turned, grabbed the boy, and ran for the fleeing Underlanders. He pushed him into the line, and a woman immediately grabbed the boy and hurried him along. Gregor saw several Underlanders look at him, but he was too busy to decide if they were impressed or indifferent.

Gregor ran house to house, finding people that needed help getting away in the chaos. It helped give the Regalian soldiers the time to focus on defending the large crowd of civilians running for the palace. As Gregor rounded a corner, a particularly large spinner dropped onto him from above, slamming Gregor down. The back of his head his the ground hard, and he immediately lost his vision. Gregor blinked hard, forcing fuzzy images back into focus just in time to scoot away from a stinger. It pierced the ground, then came up again and came down between Gregor's legs. He scooted away just in time to save one of his favorite body parts. He couldn't get his sword in any angle to attack from beneath the giant spider, so he used his dagger. It didn't go very deep into the abdomen, but Gregor pulled hard and tore a huge slice in it. The spinner reeled back in pain, and Gregor scrambled to his feet to finish it off with a chop to the head.

He stumbled as he looked around, and touched the back of his head. Blood. _I'll just ignore it for now._ Most of the people were evacuated, and spinners seemed to all be moving in one direction. Toward the palace. The walls were built high, with no entrances on the ground for enemies to enter through. Except the spinners could climb straight up walls. They were all headed for the High Hall, which would be easy to enter with its lack of ceiling. Gregor stared in horror. That was where they were keeping all the civilians and injured soldiers. It would be a slaughter. Ripred had been right.

Gregor looked up, sending him briefly into another dizzy spell, and saw soldiers and fliers sailing overhead. He waved his hands and called out to them. They must have been busy, because they all ignored him. He needed to get to the High Hall. Suddenly a flier landed behind him.

"Apollo," Gregor said relieved. "Can you get me to the High Hall?" He wondered if the flier should be out here with his injury not yet fully healed, but this was no time to be asking if the flier was feeling ok.

"That was my intention, Overlander." Gregor climbed on, and Apollo took off right way. Gregor chopped down any spinner that came through his path, and Apollo threw several against the wall as the sped for the High Hall. At this point, Gregor completely gave into his rager senses since his normal senses (hearing, vision, coordination) were almost useless with his head injury. They flew over the High Hall, and Gregor was relieved to see that most of the Underlanders had been evacuated. The rest were given a chance to escape by soldiers holding a line of spinners back on the other end of the hall.

Apollo dove in, and Gregor rolled off as soon as it was safe. The spinners were on the floor, so he didn't need to be on Apollo to fight. Besides, Apollo was still hurt, and Gregor only weakened him more. He let his rager senses back through, and spun around to clear away some of the spinners. Gregor sliced away at the spinners alongside the Regalian soldiers who called out warnings to each other and encouragement to hold their ground. Gregor felt inspired to protect the city, and soon the line of humans was overwhelming the spinners, pushing them out of the palace.

Greogor was tiring, but fought on. He chopped at legs, blocked stingers, and anything else his rager instincts told him to do. It didn't take long before the spinners began to retreat. Mareth dropped into the High Hall with Andromeda, and Gregor thought he looked like a warrior even with the prosthetic leg. His blood splattered and dirty uniform made it clear he had somehow been fighting.

"Pursue the enemy but stay within the inner circle!" Mareth ordered. "I repeat, stay within the inner circle! I will not have any of you try to be heroes!" The soldiers climbed onto fliers and took off after the retreating spinners.

Gregor looked around for Apollo, but didn't see him. He wanted to help, to force the spinners out of the city, but a familiar voice stopped him.

"Get over here, boy!" Ripred called. Gregor turned and saw the gnawer covered in blood on the far side of the hall. He rushed over to the gnawer. "Quit dragging your feet, and come on!" he yelled. Gregor scowled at him. What was he in such a rush about? Gregor ran, zigzagging slightly from dizziness, across the gore covered hall, weaving around the piles of bodies, spinner and human and flier, and tried not to look at them. He doubted he would ever forget the image of them in his life. A couple times he nearly slipped in the blood, at which point he needed to stand still and focus his vision again. Gregor had sword skills enough on his own, but he knew much of his balance and grace in fighting came from being a rager. If it weren't for that, he would have slipped in all the blood while fighting.

Ripred waited for him. There were fewer bodies here, as the soldiers had tried to keep the fighting on the other side to allow people to escape. Gregor looked at what Ripred was standing over, and his heart stopped.


	14. Chapter 14

**I've kind of like the idea of Luxa being super feisty and Gregor being the one to calm her down. I think it really fits with their characters. Anyways, plenty of bleeding in this chapter, hope you like it.**

* * *

14

Wynn lay there, blood oozing out of a wound near her hip. Her breaths were quick and irregular as she clearly fought back the pain. A wave of dizziness washed over him as Gregor ran over to her. He fell to the ground, but didn't care. He just rushed the rest of the way on his knees rather than risk another dizzy spell.

"Wynn," Gregor said, taking his cousin's hand. He gave it a quick squeeze, then tried to apply pressure to her wound. This was difficult considering it was difficult making his hands do what he wanted, but he had no time to think about his own injury. Gregor had no idea his cousin was fighting, let alone injured. He hadn't even thought of her. How could this have happened? He looked around for a doctor, but there were only two in the hall, and they were both handling several injured soldiers. There was no way they would help some Overlander girl.

"Don't worry, boy," Ripred said. "I had word sent to Howard, and I have no doubt that he will come right away. The others are busy with the Underlanders." Gregor wasn't sure it would be quick enough. He wanted help now. She _needed_ help now.

"Hey, Grego," his cousin said, trying to manage a smile. She looked too pale, and her face was twisted in pain. "I messed up, man."

"What happened?" Gregor fought the urge to cry, because he already saw the Wynn was crying and didn't want to make it worse.

"Oh," she winced. "You know. Ripred wanted. Me." She let out a cry. "To hold off. The spinners. But." She winced again. "I ran out of arrows." Her weak laugh turned into a small cry of pain.

"We were the first ones here when the spinners attacked the High Hall. She gave the people a chance to escape," Ripred explained. He didn't sound sorry at all. Gregor didn't want to hear it. He was angry, which only made his throbbing heard feel worse. His cousin wasn't supposed to be in the battle. Between his anger, fear, disgust, and pain Gregor thought he was going to throw up. Luckily, in the moment, Howard ran up behind him, and immediately began examining Wynn.

"I came as soon as a chance arose," he said, and began cutting away some of her clothes to get to her wound. "She should have an experienced surgeon, but…"

"But there's no one available right now?" Gregor finished. Howard nodded. "You can help her. I know you can." He trusted Howard's skills. Wynn swore, this time in English.

"You're going to let some _boy_ cut me open?!" Gregor opened the medical kit for him.

"Yes," he replied simply. "It's going to be ok."

"Like hell it will! Don't touch me!" Gregor backed away, pausing a moment as he stood to balance himself, then turned to Ripred.

"She wasn't supposed to be out here," he hissed, and surprised himself with how dark he sounded. He never took on this tone with people, but then again, his family wasn't usually in mortal danger.

"No?" Ripred asked. "If she had not fought today, hundreds of people may have died in here. Is that was you wanted?" Gregor looked away. Of course he didn't want that, but he didn't see how it was Wynn's responsibility to protect them.

"You could have gotten anyone else. You could have gotten me."

"I needed her. I've been training her just for a situation like this, and she was the only one Luxa or Mareth had no control over," he said frankly. What was that supposed to mean? Was he supposed to feel guilty for listening to Luxa and Mareth? But if he had just listened to Ripred when they were making plans for the High Hall, none of this would have happened.

Gregor shoved the idea from his mind, and focused on being mad at Ripred. It took everything in Gregor not the attack the gnawer. He _used_ her.

"It is a shame she got hurt, but there were far more people that needed protecting." Gregor didn't want to listen to Ripred. "If the hall had been empty…"

Gregor's blood ran cold. _If the hall had been empty_. He hadn't listened to Ripred before. If he had, maybe he could have convinced Luxa change her plans. Then Wynn wouldn't have even been here to get hurt. This was his fault just as much as it was Ripred's. Tears stung his eyes, but he refused to cry.

"What's done is done," Ripred said, this time with a tinge of sympathy. "Learn from what happened, don't feel guilty about it." There was nothing else to say, so Gregor knelt back down beside Wynn and took her hand. She squeezed it in pain.

"It's ok, Wynn," he told her softly. "You're going to be ok." She just cried in pain, and called Howard every horrible, vulgar name she could think of. It felt like an eternity before Howard finished and said it was safe to move her. The two of them transferred her to a stretcher, and Ripred himself helped drag her away. Gregor stood there a moment.

"Is she going to be ok?" he asked Howard. The young doctor was packing his tools to move on to the next victim of war. He paused.

"I am not sure," he admitted. "I only helped her enough to be moved safely. Our surgeons will help her later. I have faith in her though."

* * *

Luxa stared out the window of a council room. Her city was in terrible shape, but it could have been far worse. They would start repairs the next day. For now, Vikus would see that everyone was accommodated. Most of the spinners retreated, so she did not have to worry about too many prisoners.

The real problem was High Hall. Ripred had been right. That was the spinners' first target, and more people and fliers had died because she would not change her plans. It was a terrible mistake, and a scar on her reputation. Not to mention she would have to listen to Ripred about it. Luxa pushed the thoughts from her mind. There was no changing what happened. She had to move forward.

She turned back around as Vikus walked in with Gregor, who looked terrible. Not only was he bloody (he had a bloody cloth pressed to the back of his head and cuts everywhere) and dirty, but he looked close to tears. Luxa herself had not seen much fighting. She had been whisked out of the High Hall as soon as the spinners were in sight to help Mareth give orders. She wanted to ask what was wrong with Gregor, but had more important matters to think of.

"Report," she said briskly. Mareth gave a brief summary, including all important information to make a decision, of the situation.

"The spinners are still retreating, and may be pursued if that is your wish," Mareth finished. Luxa nodded.

"See that it is done, and show no mercy."

"Luxa," Vikus said firmly. Of course he would object. Luxa felt herself tense up. She was barely staying calm as it was, she did not need to be challenged. "They are our enemies, but that does not constitute their total destruction."

"They attempted to destroy my city," Luxa snapped back. "They tried to kill me on several occasions! If I allow their army to go, I will be seen as weak."

"Mercy is not a sign of weakness."

"How many humans and fliers have they killed, Vikus!?" She could not stay calm any longer. "Are we to forgive them for that? I am not commanding the death of their young. But I will not allow their army to leave!"

"They're still living creatures, Luxa," Gregor said.

"That is a romantic view, Gregor, but it has no place here." His jaw tightened at her condescending tone. "It was not your city or people who were hurt. You do not understand."

"If you kill them now," Vikus cut in again, "There will be no peace with them. They will continue attacking us. Just like the gnawers before."

"If I kill them now there will be no one to attack us!" Gregor walked forward quickly, and grabbed Luxa's arm.

"I'm going to have a talk with her," he said, his voice low and angry. Vikus and Mareth looked at them in alarm, as Gregor dragged her across the room. When they were far enough away, she turned on him.

"How dare you handle me," she hissed. "You think you have any right to challenge me? I will not allow those spinners to live after what they have done. After I tried to give them a peaceful solution." He stared into her eyes.

"Yes you will," he said firmly. Luxa tightened her hands into fists to keep from slapping him.

"You have no idea the insult they have made by attempting to kill me then attacking my city. We have lost much today, and you expect me to forgive them? To let them go? How could you ever understand?"

"I'm not asking you to forgive anyone, Luxa. I'm saying you should just let them go for now." He would not look away from her. "And you know seeing this city attacked hurts me too. No, not as much as you, but I get it. And…" He shook his head, his eyes darting away for only a moment. "And Wynn was hurt. She might die." Luxa had not heard this. She felt a pang of regret for her words. "I'm willing to let them go for now despite what they did, because it's the right thing to do. I know you're a lot worse off, but I want you to let them go. If I can do it, so can you."

He took her hand and squeezed it before letting go. Luxa found it harder to let her rage fuel her resolve to destroy the spinner army. She hated them right now. She wanted revenge. But perhaps the others had a point. If she was going to change the image the humans currently had in the eyes off all the Underland creatures, she had to handle the situation with care. She turned and walked back to Vikus and Mareth.

"There will be no pursuit." Vikus looked visibly relieved, though Mareth remained unreadable. "Allow them to retreat. I will meet with them on my own terms to discuss _our_ victory. If they object…" Luxa shook her head. "If they object then I will not hesitate to destroy them."

* * *

Gregor sat in a chair next to his cousin, and rested his head on the edge of her bed. She woke up the day before, and insisted on reading something to keep her mind off the pain. Nerissa was more than happy to give her some fiction novels by Underland authors, and delivered the fabric books herself to Howard's family's quarters. Though he didn't usually live there now that he stayed mostly in Reglaia, he gave up his own quarters so that civilians could stay there until the city was restored. Gregor and Wynn did the same, and were staying in spare rooms with Howard.

Gregor tried apologizing to his cousin, but she would hear none of it. He felt so guilty about her injury. If only he had convinced Luxa to change her plans with High Hall. If only he had been thinking of her. If only he hadn't gotten her into this whole mess. Wynn brushed it off as usual, and told him stop blaming himself. That it was her decision, and he had nothing to feel guilty about. Gregor was not sure he could stop feeling guilty about it, but he stopped bring it up.

Luxa relieved Gregor of guard duty after the battle, which was three days ago. Gregor didn't argue sense his head was still pretty messed up. Scouts were sent to gather any information about the spinners after the retreat, and they reported back that the enemy had been greatly weakened. They doubted they could attack the city again. The queen told Gregor to stay with his cousin, that they both deserved rest. Apparently the Overlanders were both highly regarded by the Regalians; Gregor for defending people in the city, and his cousin for defending people in High Hall. Gregor didn't want to get too cocky, but he thought Luxa looked at him with some pride. It was difficult to impress her, so even the smallest hint of approval is appreciated.

Gregor learned from Aurora that Apollo had perished in battle. He had been so badly hurt by the death of Persephone (who had, in fact, been his mate), that he flew into battle in a craze and died in the fight. Aurora assured Gregor that he was reunited with his mate now. Though her words were kind, Gregor wasn't sure if they actually made him feel any better about the loss of the flier.

Gregor was completely lost in thought now. He thought back to all the lives lost. Of all the bodies: human and flier and spinner. He tried to shove the gruesome images from his mind. There was a knock on the door frame, and Gregor raised his head.

"Come in."

Howard stepped in, and gave a nervous smile. They greeted each other, but Wynn just kept reading. Gregor doubted she heard them.

"I thought you would be in the hospital," Gregor said.

"Oh. Yes, I would like to be," Howard began, "however, Luxa said she would have me executed if I did not take a break. She has banned me from the hospital, but that shall end in an hour," he said with a smile. Gregor smiled, thinking that was just like Luxa to behave. He watched as the young man walked to the other side of Wynn's bed, and peaked at what she was reading. This finally got her attention, because he had to lean down to see the book from her laying position.

"What?" she asked, pulling the book back defensively.

"Oh, it is nothing," he said. "I did enjoy that book though." He looked back to Gregor and asked, "Could I have a moment alone with Wynnora?" He gave another nervous smile. Gregor looked at his cousin, who shrugged. He helped her into a sitting position, then left.

Luxa was waiting in the living room.

"What does he want to talk to her about?" he asked her.

"I do not know. I was planning to ask you." She looked exhausted.

"What have you been up to lately?" he asked, taking a seat next to her on a sofa.

"I have sent messengers to Queen Tonex. Vikus has convinced me to be kind and not attack her army which remains outside the city. Instead, I have invited the queen here to negotiate an end to the war. This time I will not be at her mercy."

"Hopefully this time she'll be motivated to actually negotiate." Gregor said dryly.

"Yes, well I promised Vikus not to take advantage of their unfortunate situation." She gave Gregor a small smile. "After all, I must continue changing the image of Regalia and humans."

"That is quite the responsibility you have there."

They sat chatting about the current situation of the war for a while. Gregor impressed himself with how much he was able to follow. He was actually contributing to the conversation. _Maybe following around a queen for two weeks is all you need to learn about politics._

They heard a noise from his cousin's room. Gregor thought it sounded like a short sob, but he wasn't sure.

"Did your cousin just cry?" Luxa asked. She sat straighter, which Gregor understood to mean she was uncomfortable, though her face didn't show it. "Perhaps he is examining her wound." No, that wasn't right. If Howard had hurt her, they would have heard her yell at him. Gregor stood up.

"I'm going to go check on her. I'll be right back."

When he walked into the room, he was startled to see Wynn with her head in her hands. Howard sat on the edge of her bed looking uncertain of what he should do. His face looked like he wanted to take her hand, but at the same time fearful that she might punch him if he did. Wynn looked up, a few tears in her eyes.

"Oh," she wiped away the tears, composed herself, then folded her hands on her lap. "Gregor. I didn't hear you come in."

"Wynnora, I am sorry," Howard told her softly. She gave a curt nod, and cleared her throat.

"It's fine. Hey, do you two mind if a got a minute alone?" Howard nodded, and began to leave. "And tell Gregor for me." Howard nodded again, and Gregor followed him out of the room.

They sat down with Luxa in the living room. Gregor waited for Howard to start.

"First, you should know you cousin should make a full recovery," he began. That actually did relieve Gregor a lot. "However." However? Gregor felt his heart pound in his chest. "The location and severity of her… injury is… problematic… for women." Gregor didn't understand. "I did all I could, and our surgeons did as well, but we cannot prevent the scarring of her internal organs. I am sorry. Perhaps if I had found another-"

"Cousin," Luxa interrupted. "What is wrong?" He looked at Gregor apologetically.

"Wynnora… Will not be able to bear children."

Gregor felt a rush of cold through his body. He had always imagined battle leading to one of two things; either you died or you recovered. Now Wynn had survived, but she was going to be left with a constant reminder of what happened. She had made a huge sacrifice for a city and people she barely knew. It wasn't fair. That was a childish thought, but it was all he could think. This was not fair.

Gregor zoned out. Howard was apologizing, and Luxa touched his shoulder. It wasn't their fault, he told himself. These things happen. _Sometimes you just have to fight giant underground spiders and get hurt._ Howard stood, and Gregor was pulled back to reality.

"… I would like to be the one to help her in her recovery, which I am fully capable of doing now that she no longer needs surgery, but I understand if she would prefer someone else."

"No," Gregor said. "You saved her life. Honestly, that's all that matters. That she's still alive and with us. And I'm sure she wants you to be her doctor."

Howard gave a grateful smile, and left to go to the hospital.

"You are right, Gregor," Luxa said. "She is alive, and this is what matters most. I am most sorry for her loss, but her sacrifice will be remembered." Gregor didn't really care if it was remembered. Remembering wasn't going to change anything. "You still have her," Luxa added softly. That was what Gregor needed to hear.

Gregor wasn't sure why he did it, but he suddenly pulled Luxa into a hug. She started for a moment, then hugged back, burying her face in his shoulder. He felt the weight of the last month melt away, and he hoped she felt the same. Luxa was one of the best friends he had, and he wanted her to know it. He held her tighter. After a few moments, she cleared her throat.

"Gregor," she said awkwardly, "this may be becoming… inappropriate."

"Right. Right. Of course," he said, and stepped back from her. She was blushing deeply, but smiling.

"I must see Vikus now," she said backing away. "See you later," she added, taking the phrase from him. Gregor said goodbye, then walked into his cousin's room. He just sat with her in silence for a while.

* * *

"Underlander, I order you to let me out of bed," Wynnora said with her chin held high. Howard was standing next to her bed, and he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Your confidence is admirable, however, you forget I outrank you." She pouted.

"Please, I-"

"I am entering," Luxa called from the entrance. Howard fought the urge to roll his eyes at her poor manners. She strode into Wynn's bedroom, and stood right in front of the Overlander.

"Where is Gregor?" Wynnora asked, looking suspiciously at the queen.

"He is currently with Mareth," Luxa replied. "I came here to speak with you."

"Do you wish for me to leave?" Howard offered politely.

"It is not necessary," she said to him, the quickly turned back to Wynnora. "Overlander." Howard cleared his throat. "Wynn," Luxa corrected. "I have not yet thanked you properly for your assistance during the spinner attack. Your efforts saved many lives, and you have Regalia's gratitude."

Howard was impressed with his cousin. This was definitely Vikus's idea and it was all very diplomatic rather than a warm thank you, but he knew Luxa did not find it easy expressing her gratitude. She had just a bit too much pride for that.

"Oh," Wynnora replied, tucking her hair behind her ear. If her face was not already flushed with fever, Howard was sure she would be blushing. "I really don't think that's necessary." Luxa took a deep breath, and her face softened slightly.

"It is necessary," she said, her voice tinged with regret. "You have sacrificed much for a people you do not even know, let alone like. It is more than I could have ever asked for." Wynnora looked to be about to reply when Luxa pushed her crown up and continued in her usual strong voice. "However, in the future, though such an occasion is unlikely to arise, I suggest you do not participate in Ripred's plans. I shall inform Gregor that you are well, though I am sure you will see him soon."

Luxa turned to Howard, and he gave her a smile. He hoped it expressed how proud he was of her for saying thank you. Such an action was a sign of a strong leader, which he knew she was fully capable of being. They nodded to each other, and she strode out of the room. Howard turned back to Wynnora and was startled to see she was almost in tears.

"What is wrong?" he asked, unsure of what to do. He now saw her every day, but he still did not know how to act around her.

"Nothing," she answered, running her hands through her hair. "Ugh. Why would she say something like that? She could have just ignored it."

"Luxa was merely trying to show you respect and appreciation," Howard said gently, sitting next to her on the bed. "I realize she was curt, but she meant no insult by it."

"I don't care if she was curt. It was practically an accident. I just did what. What Ripred told me to do." Her hands started to shake. "I. I mean, if I'm going to get thanked for shooting some arrows, should I also be criticized for all. All the trouble I've caused? They were both accidents." She looked at him for answer, but he still did not understand. "She should be thanking Gregor. He would love that. I got Gregor into all this trouble, I almost got you killed a couple times, and I almost got Nike killed. But she's going to thank me for a bit of luck? I'm so sorry."

Wynnora broke down crying, and Howard did the only thing that came to mind. He pulled her into a hug, and told her it was not her fault. Considering the amount of stress she must be under from fighting in a war for a place she never knew existed, he wondered how she had not broken down before. She sobbed into his shoulder trying to calm down.

"Sorry. I'm fine now," she muttered into her shirt. "I didn't mean to complain."

"That is fine," Howard said, resisting the urge to stroke her hair. "Do not apologize." He pushed her back gently, and looked into her eyes. They were a dark blue grey, and he thought they looked like stones.

"Don't tell Gregor, ok?" He smiled at her.

"Of course not."

"And don't think I like you either. You're still the jerk who sedated me." She wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Of course," Howard chuckled. A grateful smile spread across her lips.

"Can I try to stand now?"

"No," he answered firmly, shaking his head.

"Oh come on. We were having a moment." She glared at him as he gave her a slight bow and left her room.


	15. Chapter 15

15

Negotiations to end the war took a full week, and involved Luxa, Vikus, Mareth, Howard, and many other representatives of Regalia and The Fount. This was mainly due to the Regalians trying to appear nice, Gregor thought. At any point, Gregor knew Luxa could just threaten to destroy the remainder of the spinner army and queen Tonex would have to agree to any terms, but they wanted to keep a good image for Regalia.

Luxa was excited when she told the Overlanders that all Regalian lands had been returned, and that they would be able to return through the tunnel they fell through just as soon as Wynn was well enough to do so. This conflicted Gregor. He wasn't sure if he should avoid his Underland friends to make the goodbye easier, or take advantage of the time he had left. He finally decided that he would regret not seeing them as much as possible while he still could.

Whenever Luxa was not busy, Gregor tried to be with her. At first, he thought this would annoy her, but after a while he realized Luxa appreciated having the company of someone other than treaty advisors. Unfortunately, when Gregor did get to see her, it was almost always late and she was exhausted. This led to the situation he was currently in, in which Luxa had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

Gregor had gone back to her quarters with her after a meeting, and they chatted for a while. Then Luxa's violet eyes would occasionally close, and eventually her head rolled to his shoulder. Gregor shook his shoulder slightly, but the queen was knocked out. Gregor whispered for Aurora, but she had already gone to sleep somewhere being just as exhausted as her bond. Now what?

If Gregor was perfectly honest, he really didn't mind having Luxa asleep on him. He kind of liked it. However, he knew that this was in no way appropriate. He considered his options. Wake up Luxa. Gregor tried to shake her, but the queen only adjusted her head more comfortably on his shoulder. That didn't work, and if he tried yelling or shaking her harder she would definitely be angry when she woke up. Or it would attract the guards outside her chambers, and that was the last thing he needed right now.

Now Gregor considered carrying her to her bedroom. _What would happen if I got caught in there?_ He wouldn't be doing anything, but it would look suspicious. And it was Luxa's room. His stomach twisted itself. Here he was, the former Warrior, who had faced giant rats and spiders, and he was afraid to go in a girl's room.

Gregor wiggled out from under Luxa, and stood. She was still out cold. Gregor was shocked she was being such a heavy sleeper right now. He bent down, and scooped her up, which wasn't too difficult considering she was petite. Gregor carried her over to her bedroom, and entered, praying no one would walk in and see him stooping over the queen in her bed. He laid her down as gently as he could, then quickly turned to leave.

"Gregor?" came a groggy voice. Gregor slowly turned and saw Luxa prop herself on an elbow with half closed eyes. _Oh now she wakes up._ "What are you doing?"

"Uh… Just leaving. You get some rest," he said, and tried to leave again.

"Why are you in my bedroom?" The slightest hint of annoyance had entered her voice. Gregor really just wanted to leave, and not get caught with the queen. _Caught doing nothing._

"You fell asleep on the couch, so I thought I'd take you to bed."

"Oh." Luxa rubbed her eyes. "Thank you." She laid her head back on her pillow. "Do not enter my bedroom without my permission again."

"Right. Of course," Gregor replied, and realized he said it was a slight bow. He rolled his eyes at himself. He didn't need to bow to Luxa, and he really didn't want to when she completely disregarded him trying to be nice. Then again, Luxa probably expected it from him.

"Good night, Luxa," Gregor said as he left.

"Mmrm," Luxa mumbled, waving her hand for him to leave. He chuckled despite himself as he left her room. She was pretty cute right now, which was a weird thought.

* * *

Greogr didn't have to stay with his cousin all the time as she had visitors. Howard came on a daily basis to help her through her recovery, and their fighting wasn't as mean spirited as before. Ripred visited her at least once a day, which Gregor thought he owed her since he caused her to be in the battle. Gregor was still too mad at the gnawer to even talk to him. Hazard returned to Regalia, and Gregor introduced him to Wynn. The boy was so amazed by how many human languages she knew, and stayed with her for hours at a time to learn. Luxa, Vikus, and Nerissa also made occasional visits.

Gregor used his time to train with Mareth, talk with Vikus, or fly with Nike or Aurora. He also tried to help with rebuilding the city, but he only ever worked with wood before. His lack of skills with rock made him more an inconvenience than anything else, so after a few hours, he never tried to help again. He and Luxa were able to slip away twice to talk alone when she wasn't as busy. He enjoyed this time with her, because she dropped a lot of her formality. Gregor missed his family so much and couldn't wait to see them again, but in the meantime he felt like he had formed a family in the Underland.

Gregor estimated that it had been close to another month that they were in the Underland, and he was sitting in the living room with Wynn and Hazard. Hazard had no problem learning Spanish, Italian, and German (he was only using Wynn as a dictionary by now), so she decided to challenge him with Japanese and Mandarin. They were joking back and forth in Japanese, and Wynn tried to get him to speak in a more animated way. They were all laughing when Luxa, Howard, Ripred, and Vikus walked in.

"I see you have taught our young linguist yet another language," Vikus said with a smile full of pride for his grandson.

"I had to," Wynn replied with the same smile. "He catches on way too fast. Little genius, think you're so smart." She messed up Hazards thick black hair. He smiled back shyly, and pushed her hand away.

"So, what's going on?" Gregor asked.

"It has been determined that Wynnora is well enough to make the journey to your home," Luxa said. The room fell silent. Gregor felt a strange mix of excitement and sadness. He looked at his cousin, and saw the same thing.

"You will leave tomorrow," Vikus said, "but as Ripred and I leave in an hour to journey to the crawlers' land, we wish to say our farewells now."Gregor and his cousin exchanged looks, then he stood up and walked to Vikus. He felt like he was saying goodbye to his grandfather. He wished he could tell him that.

"Good bye, Vikus," Gregor said. "I'm going to miss you." It was all he could think to say, and they hugged.

"Send your family my love," Vikus said sincerely, then they released. He looked to Wynn. "You do not truly think you can escape the Underland without a proper goodbye, do you Wynnora?" he asked her. It got a small smile, and she hugged him goodbye.

"You keep practicing your echolocation," Ripred said to Gregor. "And the next time you fall down, bring Lizzie with you. I much prefer her company." Gregor was pretty sure that translated to tell Lizzie I miss her in Ripred talk. It made Gregor's anger for him slip away. He assured the gnawer he would not be falling down here again. Ripred turned to Wynn, "Don't go messing up that wound, Wynnie, we worked too hard to keep you alive for that." Wynn just smiled.

"Aw, you big old hamster, you do care," she teased, pulling his ear. He snapped at her fingers and walked out the door. They said one last goodbye, and Vikus left too.

Luxa and Howard said they took time off so they could spend the last day with the Overlanders. Mareth and Perdita joined them for a time, and of course Nike and Aurora were there as well. Howard kept nagging Wynn about proper care of her wound.

"Now just because I am allowing you to return to the Overland does me you are fully healed," he warned for the eleventh time.

"Allowing me?"

"You must still apply ointment, and stretch it. I have provided you with everything you need, as I suspect you would like to avoid suspicion in the Overland." He both wrote, and told her detailed directions for everything, and Wynn rolled her eyes and just stared at him in boredom.

They ate a big dinner together, and talked for hours. Everyone tried to keep the tone light hearted, though Gregor suspected that the Underlanders were also a bit sad to see them go. They stayed up as late as possible, and everyone ended up sleeping in Howard's living room.

* * *

They next day Luxa and Howard along with Aurora and Nike took them the long hours back to the tunnel Gregor and his cousin fell through. Howard was going to ride with Luxa, but Wynn made him go with her and Nike. She gave a sly smile to Gregor. He appreciated that, it gave him just a little more time with Luxa.

Luxa leaned on his back and rested her head on his shoulder like she used to do all those years ago. They didn't bother to talk, though they heard Wynn telling Howard to be quiet every time he repeated instructions for caring for her wound. Gregor took it all in, and appreciated every minute of it.

They landed where the battle had taken place, and began looking for the exit. It felt unreal to Gregor. He was just supposed to return home and go back to his normal life. How was that ever going to happen? He had seen and experienced things down here that he would never be able to forget, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. His only consolation was that he now had Wynn to talk to, who no doubt had things she would never forget as well.

They found the tunnel fairly quickly, then Gregor braced himself for the final goodbye. Howard and Wynn looked at each other awkwardly, then she asked him to go over the directions again. She led him away from Gregor and Luxa, to where Nike was waiting with the supply kit. Another kind gesture from her.

"So," he said to Luxa. She managed a weak smile, and took his hands.

"Good bye, Gregor," she said softly, looking into his eyes. He tried to memorize her eyes.

"Good bye, Luxa," he said back. He hoped his tone conveyed everything he was feeling, but he doubted it. He really didn't know what he was feeling. Their cousins walked back over, and they quickly let go of each other's hands.

Howard gave a quick embrace to Gregor, "Tell your family that they are missed in the Underland," he said. Gregor believed it.

"I shall miss having your council, Wynnora," Luxa said, with a mocking smirk.

"Oh," Wynn replied, waving her hand to brush off the queen's words. "If I stay any longer, you would probably execute my insolent a-"

"Ok, Wynnie. That's enough," Gregor cut her off and earned a laugh

"You are correct in this," Luxa chuckled.

They both said good bye to Aurora, who said little back. Gregor felt that she was in fact saddened by their leaving though. The Overlanders climbed onto Nike, who had volunteered to take them up. She spread her wings, and the updraft raised her up with little effort. Wynn turned on her flashlight when the Underlander's torch light disappeared. They rose for several minutes before reaching the cave.

They climbed off the flier, and Wynn immediately hugged Nike.

"I will miss you so much," she whispered. The flier closed her eyes in the embrace.

"And I will miss you," she said in return. Gregor gave his final good bye to Nike, and she dropped back down the hole.

The two Overlanders began walking out the cave without a word, and they both hoped it was night time. Neither wanted to know what it felt like to see the sun right after two months underground. Lucky for them, the sky had stars when the exited the cave.

"No car," Wynn said.

"Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?" Gregor asked.

"Depends on who has it, I guess. Come on, the house is only a short walk."

They walked for about fifteen minutes, though this was at a slow pace. Wynn's wound was hurting her, and they both wanted to be outside. When they approached the house, only the kitchen light was on. Gregor noticed his cousin's car in the driveway, along with his parents' cars.

They walked quietly up to the driveway to the back door, and Wynn unlocked it with a key from under the door mat. Gregor hoped no one thought it was a break-in as they entered the house. Gregor set down their bags in the door way, and before he could take another step he heard a familiar voice.

"Gregor!" Maggie yelled. She ran up to him, and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Hey, you," He couldn't help but say this seeing his younger sister.

His parents and Lizzie appeared right after and hugged him too. Questions streamed out of them. They had gotten the note, but they were so worried. Gregor's dad turned to his niece, and Wynn threw her arms around him. Apologies spilled out of her, which quickly turned into wishes to reunite with him. Gregor was so happy to be home with his family again.

"What happened? Tell me everything," his mother demanded, the worry plain in her eyes. Gregor gave a quick look at his cousin, then looked back at his mom.

"That's going to take a little while. Maybe we should all sit down."


End file.
